Netflix is aiming to purchase an old army base as a production facility, in order to increase its standing even as it faces financial woes.
Key Details
- The billion-dollar streaming company is angling to purchase 89 acres of former U.S. Army Fort Monmouth land in New Jersey and turn it into a production studio.
- Netflix is locked in a bidding war for the land, which was previously appraised at $54 million, although the company’s bid has not been publicly disclosed.
- “The tech giant has been selected as the top bidder for a piece of land occupied by a former Army base about 50 miles south of New York City,” reports The New York Times.
- Netflix has also announced that it will be reporting viewing figures in November as part of a deal with the Broadcasters Audience Research Board.
- “The figures will be used by journalists, advertisers, and competitors to assess the success or failure of Netflix’s offerings—a significant outcome since the platform is launching its new, cheaper, ad-supported subscription tier at the same time in a bid to boost subscribers after a bad year,” says Fortune.
Why it’s news
The two moves are brave for Netflix, which reported major losses earlier this year. The company reported losing 1 million viewers in the second quarter as the service was overtaken by its competitors in popularity. The company is positioning itself for more growth.
“Netflix remains the world’s largest streaming service, but the company reported its first quarterly loss in subscribers in more than a decade earlier this year and warned that it expects to lose 2 million global subscribers in the second quarter. That would be the single largest quarterly loss in the company’s history,” says CNBC.
Backing up a bit
Netflix must feel confident in its remaining viewership numbers if it is willing to publicly disclose them. Otherwise, the company would be disclosing embarrassing viewership numbers that could threaten the reputation of the company’s investments in original content.
“In the past, Netflix has only released very limited audience data, revealing, for example, ranked lists of its most popular series and films, or global success stories like the smash hit Squid Game, which broke streaming records,” says Fortune.
Increasing the company’s production capacity on the east coast would also signify that the company is looking to further invest in production and produce more original content to draw more viewers to the service.
“[Netflix’s losses] did not affect its interest in the area, which it has been targeting since last year. The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority appraised the parcel at $54 million, but several developers previously offered more than $100 million for just 89 acres of the 1,126-acre Army base,” says The New York Times.
