After decades of being on the U.S. sanction list, Cuba in recent times held talks with the U.S. in hopes of returning things to normal. We understand talks went along well despite some hiccups along the way, and it appears those talks have attracted big investments.
In a surprise move, Netflix has become the first big U.S. company to begin doing business in the country after the Cuba-U.S. discussions. This is a bold move by Netflix, but it is not yet certain if this bold move will pay off in any way at the moment.
“Cuba has great filmmakers and robust arts culture and one day we hope to be able to bring their work to our global audience of over 57 million members,” said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. According to the press release, Cubans with the ability to subscribe will be able “to instantly watch a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows.”
The biggest problem here is that most Cubans do not have an Internet connection, so unless something changes in the coming years, then nothing will come of Netflix’s pivot to Cuba. We should also point out that not every citizen of the country are capable of throwing out $7.99 per month for the most affordable streaming package.
Furthermore, the average Cuban allegedly makes around $20 per month, so right away we are seeing where Netflix might not make a dime for the short-term. However, if the U.S. should lift the sanctions on Cuba, then investments will begin to pour in from all across the world. Citizens will be able to earn more and have money to spend on frivolous things such as Netflix.
From our point of view, it is clear that Netflix is looking at the big picture rather than what is going on right now. The company is first on the ground; the Cuban people will likely remember that.
Source: [NBC]
