Netflix Stepping into China Market

 

by Irene Rajagopal, attorney at PAPER Law Office

Netflix's share jumped 5.8% today (April 25, 2017) followed by the company's announcement of its licensing deal with iQIYI, a subsidy of Baidu. The details of the licensing deal is not available. According to Barron's report, Netflix's content will be streaming on iQIYI's platform, which has 500 million subscribers. Netflix has been trying to access China market over the years. It's original House of Card was streamed over Sohu, another Internet platform. 

However, the media and data-storage laws in China will remain in play. Online streaming is subject to similar regulations as TV broadcasting. 

At the outset, this deal may benefit Netflix to set foot in the huge China market, but it is still unclear how much Netflix content can be eventually distributed to China audience. 

About the author: Irene Rajagopal is an international copyright and business attorney. Her office is located in Bellevue, Washington State. She can be reached at irene@irenerajlaw.com 

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