Netflix, an on-demand internet streaming provider, has a number of Netflix-exclusive programs. Original series include House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Marco Polo. The company also contains continuations of previously canceled shows, such as Arrested Development, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and The Killing.

House of Cards is critically-acclaimed show about a politician’s journey for revenge. It has received twenty-one Primetime Emmy Award nominations, making it the first original online-only web television series to receive major Emmy nominations. The show has also received seven Golden Globe Award nominations, with Robin Wright winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for the first season and Kevin Spacey winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama during the second season.

Orange is the New Black, OITNB, focuses on Piper Chapman’s experiences in a women’s prison. The show has received four Gold Globe Award nominations and twelve Primetime Emmy nominations for the first season alone.

In 2015, Netflix plans to spend over six hundred million dollars in marketing, over five hundred million dollars in technology development, and three billion dollars in spending to acquire new content for its members. Today, Netflix is available in about 50 countries, but the company plans to be fully international by the end of 2016.

Netflix claims the success of their original series is due to the advantages of the platform over linear competitors. Shows on Netflix do not have to compete for “scarce prime-time slots like on linear TV”. Furthermore, the layout allows for “more creative storytelling”.

Competitors to Netflix include HBO, Amazon Prime Instant Video, and Hulu. Some of these have or are attempting to create their own original programming. Netflix’s website slyly contributes this influx of internet-TV to the success if Netflix’s own.

FSA Connection

1. The author seems to offer what main idea?

2. Select the best two sentences from the article that best support the main idea.

3. Which sentence from the article contains an opinion?

4. What is the author’s main purpose in writing this article?

5. What information, if added, could best support the author’s purpose?