How did Netflix snatch House of Cards from HBO? Strategy revealed 

House of Cards, the Emmy-winning political drama series, played a significant role in legitimizing Netflix as a streaming service. It came out in 2013 when HBO had established itself in the space of premium television. HBO was so popular that people would ask motel owners if they had it on their televisions. Although still one of the big players, it lost House of Cards to Netflix, in the early 2010s, due to Ted Sarandos' strategy.

The now-acclaimed House of Cards was once just a concept. It was presented as an adaptation of a BBC miniseries and was looking for a home. The idea sounded broadly political. However, Sarandos realized the Shakespearean drama underneath and decided to get hold of it.

“It had s*x and revenge — everything you want from television. We had to have it.”

Besides, it was backed by talents like filmmaker David Fincher and the central cast of Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey. So, the established networks like HBO were keen on it. Sarandos' strategy helped to snatch it.

Instead of asking David Fincher or his collaborators for their pitch, Sarandos pitched his network to them. He reportedly agreed to spend $100 million on Fincher's series even before his team had even worked on their first episode.

Sarandos allowed Fincher full creative control and did not offer any notes. He also decided to share an entire season of episodes at once instead of the established pattern of releasing one episode per week.

Netflix made an offer, which was simply too hard to refuse for the House of Cards team. Twenty-odd years later, they have become a voice with a major pull.

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Netflix's origins before the House of Cards acquisition explored

The now-popular streamer dominating Hollywood had a fairly dramatic rise to the top. Before being the near-ubiquitous streamer, Netflix had been a DVD rental service. Back then, Reed Hastings handled the company and Ted Sarandos joined it. Their work together helped to establish Netflix's brand against its then-monolith competitor, Blockbuster Rental.

Sarandos was crucial to this rise. He helped the company prove its worth against Blockbuster. Eventually, he decided to use a similar strategy in the world of online video-watching. While now a commonly used term, streaming was not a known phenomenon in the 2000s. Still, Netflix decided to challenge HBO, who had amassed goodwill with shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, and Sex and the City. Their strategy led to the acquisition of House of Cards.

While speaking about their plans, Hastings noted,

“He [Sarandos] wanted us to see ourselves as a content network rather than an Amazon-like retailer."

He further added that they did not want to be "just elite programming" but to also "be mainstream."

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Also read: Was David Lynch about to make a Netflix Series? CEO Ted Sarandos reveals details