Netflix’s ‘House Of Cards’ Is Internet TV-Funded Original Programming But Don’t Kid Yourself It’s Ad-Free (Spoiler Alert)

When Netflix bid on and won the rights to House of Cards back in 2011 – buying the show before it was shot and committing to two full seasons – it made headlines. And with good reason: Funding such a high-profile slice of original programming – with David Fincher and Kevin Spacey on board — cast Netflix in a role typically occupied by HBO. Rumours of a $100 million+ price tag for HoC were bandied around. An AllThingsD source suggested a minimum of $3 million per episode – putting the total cost at $78 million at least. Netflix has not publicly confirmed how much it’s spending on the show, although a WSJ source “familiar with Netflix’s plans” claimed the cost would likely be far less than $100 million. Whatever the final figure, Netflix has rolled out a red carpet of grand claims regarding what the show means for Internet TV. “We believe that February 1st [the date the first season of HoC was put on Netflix] will be a defining moment in the development of Internet TV,” ...

ability action allthingsd appearance apple blackberry business canon david dell development experience fincher flexibility freedom hbo house internet kevin million netflix portion sony spacey spoiler tv-funded wsj