Netflix confirms date of Spain launch
Piracy and high royalty prices have delayed arrival of online film and TV streaming service
After three months of speculation, US online streaming service Netflix has officially confirmed it will be launching in Spain this October.
Although the exact details are not yet known, the Spanish service will offer both national and international film and TV content at an expected monthly subscription price of around €8, the same as in France and Germany.
The Spanish service is expected to cost around €8 a month, the same as in France and Germany
The website www.netflix.com/es has been up and running for several weeks, allowing anyone who is interested in the service to sign up to receive more information.
The catalogue of series and movies available at launch time is likely to be more limited than that offered in the US and the UK. What’s more, two of the major series that Netflix produces itself, House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, will not be on the platform because Canal+ already owns their Spanish broadcast rights.
However, many other original Netflix series that have yet to part with their distribution rights in Spain, such as Daredevil – the most-viewed of its own shows on the platform – Marco Polo, Bloodline, Grace and Frankie, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, will all feature on the catalogue at launch time. Upcoming offerings such as Sense8, Narcos and French series Marseille may also be included as well.
Netflix will be available for smart TVs, tablet devices, smartphones, computers, and video game consoles, and content will be available both dubbed into Spanish or in its original version with Spanish subtitles.
Netflix’s arrival in Spain has been a long time coming as a result of several issues, including the country’s high digital piracy rates and the large royalty payments demanded by the Spanish film and TV industry.
