Netflix is an American entertainment company that provides streaming media, video -on-demand online, and DVD by mail. It was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. In 2013, Netflix expanded into film and television production as well as online distribution. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California.
Netflix's initial business model included DVD sales and rental, although Hastings jettisoned DVD sales about a year after Netflix's founding to focus on the DVD rental by mail business. In 2007, Netflix expanded its business with the introduction of streaming media, while retaining the DVD and Blu-ray rental service. The company expanded internationally, with streaming made available to Canada in 2010 and continued growing its streaming service from there; by January 2016, Netflix services operated in over 190 countries – it is available worldwide except Mainland China, Syria, North Korea and Crimea.
Netflix entered the content-production industry in 2012, debuting its first series, Lilyhammer. It has greatly expanded the production of both film and television series since then, offering "Netflix Original" content through its online library of films and television. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films in 2016, more than any other network or cable channel.
