Netflix news programming may be coming sooner than we think.
The streaming service has already flexed its chops in documentary, standup, and scripted TV, and according to Variety, news may be next on the docket:
In a video-conference session following its third-quarter earnings call, CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos made clear they were headed in that direction. After Sarandos answered affirmatively a question regarding Netflix’s interest in programming news content, Hastings followed up with a question of his own for Sarandos.
“What is the likelihood we compete directly with Vice in the next two years?” Hastings said to Sarandos.
“Probably high,” Sarandos answered.
News would be a natural genre for the company to experiment with next, especially if Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show follows traditional host-at-desk format. By 2017 they could ostensibly be streaming an entire traditional network evening lineup.
H/T Variety | Photo via Matthew Keys/Flickr (CC BY ND 2.0)
