Netflix recently celebrated a decade of operating in Canada and today it announced it plans to open an office in the country for the first time.
“We want to build on that momentum and make a new home for Netflix in Canada – opening an office and hiring a dedicated content executive to work directly with the Canadian creative community,” said Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer in a blog post.
Since 2017, Netflix has spent over $2.5 billion CAD on productions in Canada. The company pledged $500 million to fund Canadian-made original content that year over five years, and the amount has already been met.
“Through over 20 local partnerships, we have helped support the career development of more than 600 Canadian creators to-date,” said Sarandos.
As to where this new office will be? Sarandos told The Canadian Press they are considering Toronto and Vancouver, as both markets have a lot of production going on.
Netflix will be hiring a Canadian content executive soon, while also expand staff to other departments such as marketing and publicity. There are 21 Netflix offices around the world right now, said the co-CEO.
Netflix has been exempt from Canada’s Broadcasting Act, which stipulates traditional broadcasters need to contribute to funds for Canadian content creation. Bill C-10 plans to change that and may affect Netflix.
Sarandos says Netflix should remain exempt, as the company creates entertainment.
“We spend all of our programming dollars on filmed entertainment. And it’s the nature of live linear television versus on-demand television. They’re very, very different. And I do think that those types of quotas often cut against consumer desire. We’re a company that has had great success by focusing on consumers’ desire — consumers in Canada and consumers around the world,” he told The Canadian Press.
“We’re excited about what’s to come – in the weeks ahead we’ll be announcing even more exciting news around local projects and relationships, and we can’t wait to open our new Canadian home to our creative partners,” concluded Sarandos.
