Facebook is trying to get into original video, including episodic content like the kind of stuff you might see on TV.
Facebook and Netflix aren’t bidding on the same original videos, says Netflix CEO and Facebook board member Reed Hastings
“There’s not a big conflict yet.”
Asa Mathat
That’s a business that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings knows well. His company makes billions distributing other people’s shows and creating their own popular series, like “House of Cards.”
That would seemingly make Netflix and Facebook competitors, and put Hastings, who is on Facebook’s board of directors, in a tight spot.
That’s not the case, according to Hastings.
“There’s not a big conflict yet,” Hastings said Wednesday at Recode’s annual Code Conference. “They’re not doing ‘House of Cards.’ We’re not bidding on the same shows. So not a big deal there.”
The keyword there may be “yet,” as it seems logical that as Facebook pushes further into original content, it will eventually cross paths with Netflix, though it sounds as though they’ll be utilizing different business models. Facebook plans to make money from its original videos through advertising, the same way it makes nearly all of its revenue.
Netflix, on the other hand, uses a subscription model and doesn’t have plans to change that.
“We’re committed to an ad-free experience,” Hastings said.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
