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(THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) Netflixannounced in January it was now availablein almost all of the world’s countries—but China, a country of more than 1.3 billion, still wasn’t one of them.
The streaming-video provider first announced in May that it was in talks with Chinese online broadcasting companies to bring its content to China. It was clear from the start those discussions could be rocky given Chinese censors and potentially objectionable content in some of Netflix’s programming.
But the talks with China may now be picking up speed given optimism expressed by the company’s chief executive at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, Germany.
“It may be soon that we have a license in China, or it may take a couple years, but we’re going to be very patient,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said.
“We’re looking forward to a time, a decade or two decades from now, when the Chinese middle class will want and embrace the kind of content that we have,” he said.
Mr. Hastings pointed toApple’strack record in China as a model for breaking into the market.
“When they did the iPhone, they negotiated and talked and built relationships for six years before the iPhone was allowed to come to China,” Mr. Hastings said.
“So what we take away from that is [that] a sense of great patience” is needed, he said.
He also welcomed the recent news that iTunes movies andDisneywere now both offering their services there.
Mr. Hastings said that because companies need both business partners and government permission, “there are a number of departments that you have to get to know and talk with.”
“You’re feeling your way along about getting the right permissions,” he said.
In a separate off-stage interview, Mr. Hastings also spoke of another market Netflix considers to have huge potential: India.
Mr. Hastings said while the number of customers who use broadband there were fewer than in Germany, he was optimistic because the government in India is investing in getting broadband to more towns and villages.
