Netflix has made headlines (the good kind) several times this year with its move into producing original content. It began last March with the announcement that it had beat out cable nets including HBO and AMC for the rights to House of Cards, a remake of a British series that was being exec produced by David Fincher and Kevin Spacey. They've since shown that commitment wasn't a one-time thing. In addition to negotiating a deal to air Weeds creator Jenji Kohan's new series, Orange Is the New Black, Netflix made many a fan's day by announcing that they will be airing new episodes of Arrested Development. Now, in news that I'm surprised took this long, Deadline reports that another competitor may be entering the burgeoning world of scripted, high-profile, online content, and it's a big one: Microsoft.
Deadline says that Microsoft has hired a headhunter to rustle up someone to lead development of scripted content for their Xbox entertainment console. These shows would presumably be available via their Xbox Live service, which already allows paying subscribers to access services such as Netflix and Hulu. Xbox Live already co-sponsors (with Sprint) Felicia Day's The Guild web series, so they've already dibbed their finger into providing scripted shows. Actually producing their own content would be a logical -- if risky and expensive -- next step. Then again, if anybody's got the cash to experiment, it's probably Microsoft.
Either way, this sort of thing is exciting, because it edges us closer to figuring out a way to effectively monetize online shows and remove many of the barriers between creators and potential audience members. Shows like The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog have already proven there's enormous potential in this area, and we're just seeing the frontier-days beginnings of it. If somebody like Microsoft or Netflix can produce a show that's a true, profitable breakout hit without having to actually air on television, then it's time for networks to begin worrying.
