Netflix is again experimenting with new types of content on its streaming service as the binge model has become dated. After expanding its service to include live content, video games and more recently video podcasts, the streamer now adds video content from publishers such as BuzzFeed Studios, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., Tastemade and various Penske Media PMX brands such as Variety, THR, Billboard, Eater, Rolling Stone and IndieWire Stone.
Starting Aug. 3, Netflix will offer video content from these publishers to subscribers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, according to Netflix and other reports released Tuesday by Netflix’s deal partners such as Variety, Billboard, THR, Rolling Stone and others.
The new videos will vary widely in length — some lasting just two to three minutes, while others stretch to more than 20, the partners said.
For Netflix, the deal is a low-risk way to test whether its audience has an appetite for the kind of content typically native to the Web, such as news, lifestyle, how-tos and other short-form formats that tend to be cheaper and faster to produce than a scripted series. If it works, Netflix may eventually build similar content in-house, though the company hasn’t said that’s the plan.
The series will include both licensed archive and ongoing series coming to Netflix, including BuzzFeed Celebs’ “30 Questions” and “Tasty”; Vanity Fair’s “lie detector test” and “how well do they know each other?”; AD’s “Hiking”; Elle’s “Where’s the Lie?”; Harper’s Bazaar’s “Burning Questions”; Billboard’s “24 Hours”; People’s “My Life in Pictures”; Travel + Leisure’s “Travel Unfiltered”; Tastemade’s “Struggle Meals”; and more.
Netflix says other publishers will be added over time.
The announcement follows a Bloomberg report this week that found Netflix is struggling to retain fans between the first and second seasons of top shows. This trend has reportedly worried managers, although it is largely explained by familiar culprits: high cancellation rates, long gaps between seasons and inconsistent quality. The report suggests that Netflix is also facing a shift in consumer viewing habits, which sees the streamer now competing with YouTube and TikTok – arguably as much as it competes with traditional TV networks now.
To court viewers drawn to short-form video, Netflix has already added a TikTok-like feature called “Clips” that lets users scroll through short snippets from its library. But where Clips is designed to steer viewers toward longer series and movies, these new publisher deals go the other way, bringing short-form content to the platform itself.
“Members don’t just want to watch a show or movie and move on — they want to keep exploring the stories and personalities they love long after the final credits roll. These partnerships help us deepen fandom and create more ways for members to carry those stories with them throughout the day,” said John Derderian, Netflix VP of Animation Series + Kids & Family TV, who is overseeing this project.
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