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If you’ve had a chance to watch the Netflix series House of Cards, you know what a great story it tells. Washington power broker and House Majority Whip Frank Underwood – played brilliantly by Kevin Spacey – stops at nothing to exact his revenge on those who pass him over to be secretary of state.
House of Cards pioneered the idea of making all 13 episodes of its first season available simultaneously. If you’re like me, you set aside whatever agenda you had and got the viewing done over the course of a few evenings.
Spacey spoke recently at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, and he argued that the economic structure of the $30 million Netflix deal sounded excessive but was actually more cost effective than U.S. TV’s pilot system. He also said the deal works because it gives consumers what they want – control over when and where they have access to entertainment that matters to them.
Check out Spacey’s remarks above, and let me know whether you like the House of Cards model. (Netflix, incidentally, has followed the same model two more times with its versions of Arrested Development and Orange Is the New Black. Good stuff!)