Thursday, January 22, 2015

Netflix and House of Cards

With the amount of money Internet streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video make, it didn’t take long for them to start airing original series. One of the most popular of these shows is House of Cards, a political drama featuring Kevin Spacey. Set in Washington D.C., this show follows fictional politician Frank Underwood through all the deception and manipulation of a job in the White House.

House of Cards is one of those shows that it seems like everyone has seen, and if it were to be included in the Nielsen ratings system, it would likely be one of the highest rated shows currently on TV. Sadly for Kevin Spacey, his pay rate is not quite up to par with the show's popularity. Since Netflix is a private company that does not air any commercials, and House of Cards (a Netflix original series) does not air anywhere else, there is no reason for Netflix to release information regarding the amount of views its shows get. This leaves Spacey and his agent guessing as how to much money he should make for each episode.

Netflix’s ability to keep their data private gives them an advantage that television networks do not have - although with their gross revenue of $5.5 billion in 2014, they would be doing just fine even if Kevin Spacey were to make twice as much as he does. Despite the disadvantage Spacey faces, he is returning for a 3rd season which airs on Netflix on February 27th. It will be interesting to see how the show progresses having gained so much popularity since the last season was released, and how other existing Netflix original shows like Orange Is The New Black will progress as well. 2015 will be a big year for Internet streaming, and House of Cards will be no exception.

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