Netflix was founded in August 1997 in Scotts Valley, California, by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. It began as a service for renting DVDs by mail, with an online catalogue, and moved to a monthly subscription model without late fees in 1999. That undercut traditional video rental chains such as Blockbuster, which eventually collapsed. In 2007 the company started streaming films and television shows over the internet, and in 2013 it released its first major original series, House of Cards. In 2016 it expanded to nearly every country, and it became one of the largest producers and distributors of television and film. Its success helped drive the shift of viewers from broadcast and cable to on-demand streaming.
Before and after
- from 15 May 1997 to 9 June 2012Premiere of Bob the Builder
- 26 June 1997Publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- from 2 July 1997 to 1 January 19991997 Asian financial crisis
- 4 July 1997Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner rover
- 29 August 1997Founding of Netflix
- 31 August 1997Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
- 5 September 1997Death of Mother Teresa
- 6 September 1997Discovery of Caliban
- 6 September 1997Discovery of Sycorax
More in Society, economy & sport
- 7 April 1948Founding of World Health Organization
- 1950Origins of Formula One
- 1959HIV/AIDS
- 8 August 1967Founding of ASEAN
- 9 September 1999Founding of African Union
- from 15 November 2019 to 5 May 2023COVID-19 pandemic
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.