With the dust still settling around Netflix’s shuttered DVD business, Netflix is now announcing a new division, Netflix House.
The “Houses” will expand upon Netflix’s existing online merch shop with food and themed experiences for the latest Netflix shows. The company has experimented with immersive experiences before such as the Bridgerton Ball or the Stranger Things Experience.
What we know is limited. However, we can expect the houses to be like mini theme parks but don’t expect a Stranger Things roller coaster anytime soon.
It’s a recognition of, perhaps, the one thing competitors such as Disney Plus and Peacock Plus have, respectively in Disneyland and Universal Studies, that Netflix does not, places to connect directly with subscribers and potential customers.
Netflix House would provide a permanent location for these experiences which senior leadership hopes will result a repeated visits throughout the year.
When and why
No official word on where specific locations will open in 2025, but fans can expect major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco to be some of the first locations with international locations to open later.
“We’ve seen how much fans love to immerse themselves in the world of our movies and TV shows, and we’ve been thinking a lot about how we take that to the next level,” Josh Simon, Netflix’s VP of consumer products, told Bloomberg.
The concept of the Houses seems to be an interesting experiment by Netflix on how to increase viewer engagement while giving prospective customers something tactile to consider as they weigh a possible subscription.
This comes as the company is looking to expand streams of revenue beyond its streaming products; partly due to growing complaints of the increasing subscription prices of the platform.
In addition, Netflix surely hoped that industry strikes would have ceased by now. With the SAG-AFTRA negotiations failing Wednesday, the company may be searching for added revenue to pay royalties for streams.