Netflix is now available in 130 more countries, but not China

With how slowly Netflix has been expanding over the past year or so, many people were wondering if the company would be able to complete its goal of spreading to nearly every country in the globe by the end of 2016. That’s because we were expecting a gradual expansion over the course of several months, but as CEO Reed Hastings made clear on Wednesday, that’s not going to be the case. Instead, Netflix is expanding in a couple of massive bursts, the first of which saw it expand to 130 new countries, excluding China, but that should change soon. 

The internet streaming company that’s promising 600 hours of new original content next year has just taken a huge leap in its march toward global domination. CEO Reed Hastings made the announcement today in Las Vegas: Netflix is now available in 130 additional countries as of today, including emerging markets like India, Indonesia, Russia, Azerbaijan, and developed markets like Singapore and South Korea. Then Hastings made a loaded statement. “While you have been listening to me talk,” he said. “The Netflix service has gone live in nearly every country of the world but China—where we hope to also be in the future.” Hastings failed to explain what’s happening in China, but he did call Netflix a global television network. Of course, you might just call Netflix another tech company that wants to take over the world. Regardless, it’s good news for fans of Jessica Jones worldwide.