Netflix supremo recognizes streaming giant might have made a few mistakes about Cannes


It wasn’t just what Netflix chairman-CEO Reed Hastings said at Lille Transatlantic Dialogues on Thursday but his conciliatory tone.


Appearing on the same platform as not only big European company heads such as Endemol Shine’s Sophie Turner Laing but European Commission Vice president Andrus Ansip, Hastings drilled down on Netflix reaction to impending quotas to be imposed on Netflix and other OTT platforms by the Audiovisual Media and Services directive.


Its 30% European content stipulation is “a little tough” to meet for Netflix at the moment, Hastings said. “But we have three years. We’re building rapidly towards that,” he added.


“Regulation is critical to order. There is great regulation that is very useful. It’s up to us in every country to participate, and follow those regulations,” Hastings said.


He added: “I know we have a reputation as a disruptor, sometimes we make mistakes. We got into a bigger situation with Cannes than we meant to.”


“We will focus now on series,” he continued. “Standup, docuseries; there is so much we can do without being a distruptor on the movie side.”


Drawn on his position on Cannes Festival, Hastings commented that the “We love Cannes. We’ve been many years and have buyers going this year. They are very sincere at finding a model that works for them and us.”


When asked about rumors that Netflix may be looking to acquire Luc Besson’s Europacor, Hastings left the door open saying, “We do love Luc Besson, but I can’t comment on that.”


Hastings comments come two-and-a-half weeks after he announced a slew of new European series in Rome and promised over $1 billion in in investment in local production in Europe this year.


They also come a fortnight after Netflix acknowledged in its first quarter results that Spain’s “La Casa de Papel” was the most-watched foreign-language show ever on Netflix. “La Casa” and “End of the F***ing World” were “as big as our Hollywood hits,” he revealed.