Netflix Plans To Launch In Five European Countries Later This Year

But success in some countries may rely on voiceovers and subtitling — or just very good foreign films.

Internet streaming service Netflix announced on Wednesday morning that it will launch in five new countries later this year, including France, Germany, and Austria.

Netflix US @netflix

It's official! We'll launch in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg later this year. #Netflix

Wed May 21 04:15:52 UTC+0000 2014

Netflix launched its streaming service in the United States in 2007 and has since gone on to launch in various countries around the world. It now has 48 million registered users across the world.

The Associated Press

Netflix has also branched out into original programming, with both House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black proving to be major hits. The service increased membership prices by €1 earlier this year.

The Associated Press

But there are suggestions that the success of Netflix's rollout to various countries will depend on particular cultural norms. While the French typically accept subtitles, English films in Germany usually have voiceovers.

Fred Prouser / Reuters

"Germany potentially could be quite a difficult market as it has low pay-TV penetration and seemingly low willingness to pay," Ian Maude from the media consultancy Enders Analysis told the BBC.

"One thing I'm curious to see in Germany is whether or not it has dubbed a lot of the show for the market because, while French TV has a lot of subtitling, in Germany foreign language movies and TV shows are generally voiced over, and that can be quite an expensive process."