The streaming platform has become an important tool for entertainment since it launched, and it also can be seen as a symbol in the post-network era. Amanda Lotz (2017) indicated that ‘internet-distributed television is by eliminating the necessity of time-specific viewing that internet distribution allows different logics that extricate it from many of the conventions that have been established for television industries built on linear distribution.’ As Netflix extricates from many of the conventions, it has gone from being a content distributor to a content distributor and content producer.

<House of Cards> as the first major TV show to be introduced on Netflix, it certainly affected the whole industry regarding how television was produced, distributed and consumed. For example, because there were no time or place restrictions on watching <House of Cards>, it broke the traditional, monopolistic linear viewing and gradually transformed the industry into a non-linear viewing. Instead of being forced to organise audiences’ viewing according to a network-mandated schedule, audiences are now selecting desired content from a menu, rather than following any linear programming, which means free to watch anytime, anywhere they want. Other streaming platforms have followed Netflix’s lead and launched original series exclusively for their own platforms.

In addition, Netflix creates high-quality original series that can help increase the number of subscribers and raise customer loyalty of subscribers. <House of Cards> is the most-watched streaming title at Netflix, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said (Paul Bond, 2013). At the same time, the first season of <House of Cards> has an IMDB rating of 8.5/10 (2016), which shows audiences have a good experience with <House of Cards>. Netflix attracts subscribers with high-quality series while also creating a sense that the platform always has high-quality TV series. There are 6 seasons of <House of Cards>, which has also increased customer loyalty to a certain extent.

Bibliography

Bond, Paul. (2013). ‘House of Cards’ Is Netflix’s Most-Streamed Show. The Hollywood Reporter.com  Available from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/house-cards-is-netflixs-streamed-421142/ [Accessed 23/11/2022]

IMDB (2016). House of Cards Season 1 Ratings. Available from https://www.imdb.com/list/ls053448667/ [Accessed 23/11/2022]

Lotz, Amanda. (2017). ‘Theorizing the Nonlinear Distinction of Internet-Distributed Television’, Portals: A Treatise on Internet Distributed Television. Ann Arbor, Mich. : Maize Books, an imprint of Michigan Publishing

Yuqian Hu (33648024)

First Published on 24/11/2022