It looks like HBO isn’t the only one that needs to watch its back for Netflix, as the company will apparently begin offering Vice-like content in the near future. A recent interview with some Netflix executives left little doubt that the company will be competing directly with Vice within the next couple of years, meaning we should start seeing Vice-like news and some gritty documentaries from Netflix in the near future.
Is Netflix planning to compete with Vice Media as a provider of news delivered online to millennials? Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, along with chief content officer Ted Sarandos certainly indicated as much during a conference call on Wednesday to discuss their third-quarter earnings. The Netflix executives were asked point-blank whether news interested them, spurring an impromptu Q&A among one another. “What’s the likelihood Netflix competes directly with Vice in the next two years?” asked Hastings. “Probably high,” answered Sarandos. “On the news side, we definitely are being more adventurous in terms of the genres we’re going into,” said Sarandos, noting the upcoming talk-show with Chelsea Handler. Sarandos reiterated, however, that live sports is not of interest to Netflix. “There are a lot of irrational bidders for sports. We’re not anxious to become another one.”
