Netflix

Is Netflix a friend or foe to the book business? That question was addressed by the Global 50 CEO Talk 2019, which featured a conversation with Kelly Luegenbiehl, VP International Originals of Netflix, hosted by publishing consultant Ruediger Wischenbart and with the editors of global trade journals.

Netflix will produce a new series titled Zero, an Italian-language show based on the work of 27-year-old Antonio Dikele Distefano, a formerly self-published Italian author whose books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies since he signed with Mondadori.  Read more

Netflix has been on a book acquisition spree over the past year, developing screen adaptations of dozens of novels, series, short story collections, and graphic novels.  Read more

In its quest to launch a hit fantasy series of the Game of Thrones caliber, Amazon has closed a massive deal - said to be close to $250 million - to acquire global TV rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The streaming service has given a multi-season commitment to a LOTR series in the pact, which also includes a potential spinoff series.  Read more

Last year, every social media network out there tried to jump on the streaming video train. Facebook had Facebook Live. Twitter had Vine. Snapchat had itself. Instagram copied Snapchat. Even Tumblr added live video. But Netflix, which alone produces a third of the internet traffic in North America, has easily beaten them all.  Read more