A wide variety of content produced in Latin America demonstrates the platform's commitment to the region, but no other does the same

Earlier this month, streaming giant Netflix announced a new series produced in Mexico, 'La casa de las flores', directed by Manolo Caro and starring Verónica Castro. In fact, as 'La casa de las flores' there are more than 50 productions, in different stages of development, made exclusively in Latin America.

However, while in the US market Netflix faces strong competition from HBO and Amazon Prime Video, which also invest millions in order to position themselves as the first streaming platform, in the Latin American market Netflix plays alone.

HBO, for example, has series on the scale of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Westworld' and with a digital content platform, HBO GO, which is present in Latin America. However, its catalog is far from having the size of Netflix, and the number of series produced in Latin America is simply not comparable.

While Netflix adds about 3,000 series and movies on average for Latin America, HBO falls far short of 1,000. In addition, the high content rotation of HBO GO, which follows the programming of its premium TV channels, prevents it from establishing a consistent catalog.

Amazon Prime Video, which has only been in Latin America for a year and a half, still does not produce series in the region, and has limited its approach to buying existing broadcast rights, as it did with popular TV soap operas. Aztec: 'The spoiled' and 'Two lakes'.

Also read: What do Colombians earn with the arrival of Amazon?

If one considers the size of the Latin American market, it is easy to understand Netflix's interest in creating loyalty among users in the region by investing in local productions. The consultancy Digital Research predicted that by 2022, video streaming services in the region will be worth 4.6 billion dollars, of the 1.9 thousand that were worth in 2016.

The same study estimates that for that year the combined streaming platforms will add more than 32 million subscribers, almost double registered in 2016. Having capitalized on this huge market, Netflix already ensures a considerable advantage over its competitors direct, who have a lot to go before threatening the number one position in the region.

Latin American Post | Pedro Bernal
Translated from "Netflix corteja los mercados latinoamericanos, pero sus competidores no le siguen"