Diff 2015: Bringing Netflix to the Middle East

When Netflix launches next year in the Middle East, viewers can expect local original content alongside hit shows, says chief content officer Ted Sarandos, speaking at a panel at the Dubai Film Market on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff).

“It would be rare to launch without it,” he said, adding that he was “enthusiastic to find storytellers willing to tell contemporary stories of the Middle East”.

Discussing the process of accessing a whole new region, Sarandos said: “We try our best to analyse regional ratings to specifically tailor Netflix.”

Original Netflix programming such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones has been a huge driving force for global subscription for the internet content service, which is officially unavailable in the UAE; with the opening of an office in Dubai recently, indications are that it will launch here at the end of 2016.

Sarandos believes that local content also has the potential to bring a global audience, citing the global success of foreign language programmes made in Latin America.

Finally the question of censorship was addressed with Sarandos claiming that they would, “observe local sensitivity and regulation” but that they did “not have a hard-baked plan for censorship in place”. With Netflix currently operating in 60 countries worldwide, they have announced a time frame for global coverage by early 2017.

— Daniel James Shepherd is an aspiring media student, currently studying journalism in Dubai. He is one of the UAE-based students taking part in the Diff-tabloid! Young Journalist Award programme.