Netflix has launched its first Swedish movie – the thriller Red Dot – and aims to produce more content in Nordic countries. “We are here to stay,” says Lena Brunius.
When north director Lena Brunius speaks through the broadcast giant forward, the pressure is so great that it is hardly possible to cross the entrance. Many visitors to Filmhuset in Stockholm are curious about Netflix
NFLX + 1.72%
Today’s evolution
Plans in Sweden.
The global broadcasting giant, with clients worldwide, now has 158 million users. The most recent quarterly report sees 6.8 million new users – the vast majority of them from countries other than their home country, the United States.
“We are very much looking forward to expanding our customer base outside the US. In this regard, we will also continue to expand our impressive portfolio from all over the world,” says Lena Prunus, Head of Licensing and Production of Netflix in Northern Europe.
We have huge opportunities to find more content that resonates with a global audience, too.
According to Lina Brouneus, you have an extra good outlook on Nordic countries.
“We believe that good stories can come from anywhere, and travel anywhere. We believe that the content we produce can have a global impact. Especially Scandinavian content, where we have a wonderful history of storytellers, writers, producers and directors. We believe we have tremendous opportunities. To find more content that resonates with a global audience, too. ”
Read more: Netflix Expert is now investing in Sweden: “90 percent don’t care about us”
Netflix has already increased its investment in the North. On Thursday, the broadcast giant announced their first Swedish film – the thriller Red Dot. The film will be released exclusively on Netflix in 2020 and is produced by SF Studios.
But Red Dot isn’t the only Nordic movie production Netflix is making. In Norway, a corpse was produced, and in Denmark, the rights to the Danish film Shadows in My Eyes were targeted.
Netflix previously produced the Swedish series Biggest of All, which premiered in April.
We want to continue investing in this region. No doubt. “We are here to stay,” says Lena Brunius.
Taking into consideration the amount of content we produce locally, I really don’t think it will be difficult for us to meet the requirements of the European Union.
One of the challenges facing Netflix in Europe is the European Union’s requirement for domestically produced content. The stake was previously set at 30 per cent, but the European Commission has not come to a conclusion on how the stake is calculated. According to Variety, they aim to be ready by the end of the year.
According to Lina Brouneus, this won’t be an issue for Netflix.
“With the volume of our locally produced content in mind, I really don’t think it will be difficult for us to reach that number.”
Rather, it believes that providing expertise in the North is the greatest challenge.
“There are so many good creators and producers of content in the North. It’s hard to get time to browse through everything here.”
When asked what Netflix is looking for for ideas for the future, she answers that she is looking for uniquely touching stories, which return home to many different audiences.
And recently, the audience has expanded. According to Lina Brouneus, the road ahead for Netflix to the top should involve a slightly younger audience.
“As we grow, of course we want to present things that everyone in the family, yes everyone in the audience, can see. Now we are starting to invest more and more in children’s content, cartoons and family films.”
Read more: This is how they became the favorites of Swedish Netflix – a quarter of a billion sales