Netflix will launch in six more European countries by the end of the year. The video-on-demand company plans to offer service in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg by the end of 2014.
Until now the company’s European presence has been restricted to the UK, Scandinavia and The Netherlands. Netflix also has a presence in Latin America Most of Netflix’s revenue comes from its 35.7 million US customers.
In April, Netflix reported a financial loss in international territories. The new expansion is expected to keep the company running at a loss internationally as it spends money on content and marketing the international service. Differing content rights agreements across different territories could potentially slow down the range of the company’s offerings in the near term.
In an April letter to investors, the company said: “We intend to continue our international expansion over the coming years, so our near-term profits will be quite modest as we invest in this large global opportunity.” In an analysis last year, Forbes noted that over time, the potential market for Netflix in Europe is far bigger than the US.
Germany has 29.1 million broadband households, the most of any country in Europe, according to SNL Kagan, followed by France and then Russia.
