Netflix executives hinted Wednesday that the streaming giant could take on a new challenge in the next couple of years: getting into news programming.
In a video conference after its (disappointing) Q3 earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos discussed the possibility of the company moving into more news-oriented programming, in the vein of HBO’s Emmy-winning Vice series.
In fact, Hastings specifically mentioned Vice in a question he posed to Sarandos:
“What’s the likelihood that we compete directly with Vice in the next two years?” Hastings asked.
“Probably high,” replied Sarandos.
Despite the possibility of a “Netflix News-“type outfit, a spokesperson for the company told Variety that it has no plans to get into the live reporting and news programming business.
Still, a move into news could challenge the youth-oriented Vice, which has been very successful both with its HBO programming as well as its various online outfits.
“On the news side, we are definitely being more adventurous about the genres we are going into,” Sarandos added.
Netflix stock fell sharply in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported missing its revenue and subscriber forecasts in the third quarter. However TechCrunch reports that the company has mostly rebounded from its slide.
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