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Up until this one specific camera shot, 31 minutes and 42 seconds into the sixth episode of House of Cards, it had all been going pretty well. The endearing evil of the series' anti-hero Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey, there on the left) had carried me through the first five installments at a brisk pace, to the extent that even the most blatant Apple and Sony product placements had largely gone unnoticed. (Underwood: "Is that a PS Vita? I oughta get one of these for the car.")
I happen to be from the UK, where paid product placements on TV shows were banned until 2011 and where we're particularly sensitive to such things, so I must have been engrossed. But then this desk shot happened. My disbelief stopped suspending and promptly clattered to the floor. It had nothing to do with Apple specifically, or even the principle of commercial gadget cameos. My paranoia runs deeper than that, and it has so far prevented me from going back to watch the rest of the series. Read on and I'll explain.
Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Apple
While Netflix has built its streaming service on content previously available elsewhere, its dive into exclusive original content begins in earnest February 1st of next year. That's when the David Fincher-directed House of Cards series that it reportedly outbid the likes of HBO and AMC for will debut, with all 13 episodes immediately available for streaming in all of Netflix's service areas. Lilyhammer was an exclusive of sorts that debuted earlier this year, however that was in association with Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Netflix is going it alone backing several original series that will roll out over the next year including the highly anticipated return of Arrested Development (they're apparently looking for walk-ons, check the video after the break), a murder mystery titled Hemlock Grove from Eli Roth, comedy Orange is the New Black from Jenji Kohan, the creator of Showtime's Weeds, and the second season of Lilyhammer. There's no word on why the series will launch next year instead of the originally scheduled "late 2012" window, however production of the second 13 episode season (which Netflix agreed to up front) is already scheduled to begin in the spring as well. We'll see if the new push for exclusive content can cover some of the holes in Netflix's catalog and keep current customers aboard while also attracting new viewers, even as competition in the subscription streaming arena increases.
Continue reading Netflix schedules its original series 'House of Cards' for release February 1st
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Netflix schedules its original series 'House of Cards' for release February 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Despite all Netflix's misgivings up until early this year, the service has got its users watching more video than ever. CEO Reed Hastings recently took to Facebook to announce that subscribers have watched over one billion hours of content in a single month, for the "first time ever." As Tech Crunch points out, that's about one hour of video-viewing per day against the five hours that the regular ole tube garners. Hastings also mentioned he's excited about the service's exclusive rights to House of Cards and Arrested Development, declaring that they'll help to "blow these records away." If you'll recall, back in January the company claimed 26 million streaming subscribers worldwide, compared to just over 10 million who opted for discs -- it'll be very interesting to see how these fluctuate given its newer takes on content.
Netflix users clock-in more viewing hours than ever: over one billion in June originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 09:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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