The video streaming service has seen its membership pass the one million mark in Ireland and the UK

Just over a year after video streaming service Netflix launched in Ireland, chief executive Reed Hastings is happy with how it is going.

Netflix has expanded from the personal computer to a multitude of devices – from tablets and mobile phones to consoles – offering users a choice of how, and when, they watch. It has also managed to sign up new content partners.

“It’s gone great. Six months ago, we crossed one million members in the UK and Ireland, but we’ve seen a little disproportionate success in Ireland than in the UK, and we’ve been really excited by it,” he said.

“We’re hopeful that as the Irish economy and housing crisis passes, that it will continue to grow.”

Hastings is confident the ongoing economic difficulties won’t affect the company’s success here “because we’re at the value end . . . In the US we’ve gone through two [recessions], and neither of them impacted us”, he says. “You cut down on more expensive experiences.”

The company hasn’t revealed the exact number of people who have signed up for Netflix in Ireland, preferring instead to present figures for Britain and Ireland together.

The “disproportionate” growth in Ireland could be attributed to a lack of competition in the streaming sector.

In the US, Netflix faces competition from Amazon and Comcast’s Streampix; in Britain, LoveFilm is vying with Hastings’s firm to win over customers.

But Hastings says the main competition here is from cable and satellite.

“The main thing Netflix offers is that sense of control. You can watch in the middle of the night, the middle of the afternoon. You can pick the show you want. That’s different from looking at the programming grid for Sky or anyone else,” he says.

Growing competition

In Ireland, that situation has changed slightly, particularly with on-demand services from Sky and UPC now available, but Hastings isn’t too concerned.

“Those high levels of competition exist in every market,” says Hastings.

Perhaps in response to growing competition, Netflix is changing its business, introducing its “originals” offering, content exclusive to Netflix.

The first series shot solely for the streaming service is House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey. The full series of 13 episodes will be available on Netflix from February 1st. Mystery series Hemlock Grove will become available on April 19th.

Plans are in place to keep adding to this roster of content to attract more users.

People around the world are often frustrated that shows aren’t available at the same time as they are in the US,” Hastings says. “We’re trying to fix that.”

Netflix has been busy signing up new content partners such as Lionsgate and Disney.

The company has also made some changes to how it works, implementing the OpenConnect service, a single purpose video content delivery network that allows ISPs to receive Netflix video directly at the interconnection point of the ISP’s choice. That facilitates the delivery of high quality video formats such as Super HD, which is a 1080p picture.

“It changes your perception of the internet. So many people think of the internet as YouTube, and when you see the quality, it’s impressive,” says Hastings.

Broadband provider Eircom has already signed up with OpenConnect, facilitating the Super HD video, along with Magnet, but UPC has not yet signed up to the delivery service.

One billion hours

The high quality service may become more important in the future. This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show saw a push for higher quality TVs, with expensive 4K resolution screens on many manufacturers’ stands.

Services such as Netflix could be in a position to offer content to consumers that takes advantage of the demand for higher resolution video.

“First we have to get the server side – OpenConnect – deployed around the world, but there is no need for us not to do those formats as there is a demand for it,” says Hastings.

Netflix is no stranger to trying to change how it does things in its business. The company ran into trouble in the US when it tried to separate its DVD rental and streaming service in 2011, a plan it later abandoned.

More recently, Hastings fell foul of regulators when he revealed that Netflix had passed one billion hours of viewing, because he posted the information on the company’s Facebook page rather than issuing it through the markets. That matter has still to be resolved.

“I think it’s one of those changing societies where, for many regulators, Facebook and Twitter are something they don’t deal with every day but they are very much used by the common person,” he says.

Although Hastings describes 2013 as the year of Netflix’s content expansion, there is speculation that 2013 will also see further geographical expansion of the services, with France mentioned as a possible target for the company.

Netflix dismisses the talk as rumour. “We haven’t announced any specific plans on timing,” says Hastings.

Another rumour that Netflix isn’t commenting on is Microsoft’s reported interest in the streaming video service.