Netflix is expanding into Southern Europe

Netflix has already conquered most of the Anglosphere and Latin America, and with its Asian expansion on the horizon, the company has decided to finish its European expansion. Starting later this year, the company will be offering its service in some of the developed, but less-connected parts of Western Europe, such as Italy and Spain. This is part of Netflix’s plan to operate in 200 countries before 2017. 

Netflix Inc. will expand into in Italy, Portugal and Spain, pushing into a tier of less-connected Western European markets as it continues a global rollout. The Los Gatos, Calif. online-video subscription firm said that it will in October offer services that includes a catalog of older movies and TV shows, as well as some original programs including the forthcoming show about Pablo Escobar called “Narcos.” The launches continue a fast expansion that has boosted Netflix’s subscriber numbers but sapped its profit. Netflix says it will operate in 200 countries by the end of 2016, and aims for its international operations to be profitable beginning in 2017. But meanwhile, the cost of buying rights to run TV shows and movies, as well as to market its service against competitors, is taking a growing toll on the bottom line. International losses widened to $65 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared with $35 million a year earlier, after the company began offering service in several European countries including Germany and France last fall. In the most-recent period, it also added service in Australia, New Zealand and Cuba. The firm plans to add service in Japan in the fall as well.