As it works to retain subscribers and grow its audience, Netflix has been broadening the types of content it hosts over the last few years. It’s begun airing major sports and other live events, commissioning content starring social media-based creators, and hosting video podcasts.
The idea seems to be to position the service more as a total video hub, rather than solely a destination for long-form TV series and films. After all, the other major streaming platforms aren’t Netflix’s only competitors. Ultimately, it has to constantly fight to win users’ time and attention, a battle which every media company competes in, whether that’s YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, or Fortnite.
This week, Netflix has announced a slate of deals with premium publishers which broadens its content offering further, bringing a range of popular digital video series into its own platform. The publisher partners announced by Netflix, which include BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Penske Media and People Inc., all already create and distribute video series via their sub-brands online, in most cases primarily via YouTube. A number of these series, including Architectural Digest’s ‘Open Door’, BuzzFeed’s ‘I Draw, You Cook’, and People’s ‘My Life in Pictures’, will now make old episodes and new releases available on Netflix. Subscribers in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand will have access to this content, starting on August 3rd.
Netflix says the curated list of videos it’s bringing on board will range from “three-minute quick-hits to 20-minute episodes”. The streamer also hinted that it’s looking to sign up additional publisher partners in the future.
The fight for the living room
Netflix executives have previously downplayed the competitive threat of other video providers, with ex-CEO and chairman Reed Hastings famously naming sleep and Fortnite as its major opponents.
But the challenge posed by YouTube, which is positioning itself in the TV lane, is impossible to ignore — particularly now that Netflix is competing not just for eyeballs, but for ad dollars too. Nielsen’s most recent ‘The Gauge’ report found that YouTube accounted for 13.4 percent of all TV viewing minutes in the US in April, compared to Netflix’s 7.8 percent.
This set of deals looks to strike at YouTube’s living room presence specifically. YouTube doesn’t break down which types of content are most frequently watched on TV sets. But polished, professionally produced content created by premium publishers is among the most TV-like content which YouTube hosts. It’s not hard to imagine that these types of shows account for a sizeable chunk of YouTube viewership on smart TVs.
By bringing these same shows onto its own platform, Netflix will hope to eat into YouTube’s TV viewership. As the company pitched with its announcements, viewers will be able to “watch some of [their] favourite videos from around the internet without having to leave Netflix to find them”. Don’t go to YouTube — we’ve got all you need right here.
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