Here’s what to expect when Netflix arrives in Singapore

Netflix’s arrival in Singapore and select countries in Asia was officially announced in early September, but little has been heard since (editor’s note: it just launched in 130 countries simultaneously on January 6, including in Singapore).

The online video streaming service that has been the bane of expensive cable TV providers everywhere and pirates in certain territories, is expected in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in early 2016.

Little is known even now, but after meeting with Netflix corporate communications lead Jonathan Friedland, we were able to have a few pressing questions answered ahead of the opening of the regional office the company aims to place in Singapore.

Content will be scarce at first

Those expecting the US catalogue straight out of the gate will probably be sorely disappointed. The realities of international TV content licensing make it impossible, but that’s not the only reason, Jonathan says. “Our first big international market was in Latin America, where we licensed a bunch of stuff that nobody ever watched,” he explains. So in every country it launches now, the company iterates on the content according to the audience’s wishes.

“In the US we’ve been streaming since 2007 and we have 42 million subscribers, so we can afford a lot of content,” Jonathan says. “When we start in a new market, it’s a smaller content base and it grows over time.” He cites France and Germany as examples, where the service launched last year and the size of the catalogue has doubled since then.

This creates the unfortunate situation of not providing enough incentive to users who access the service through a VPN to switch to the local version. But because of content licensing issues, little can be done about it.

… but Netflix original programming will be immediately available

The good news is, all of Netflix’s original shows and movies will be available globally the moment they are released. The company took care to have that content locked down worldwide, in stark contrast to the Hollywood practice of marketing globally and releasing in stages.

See: Netflix has already missed its China windowFortunately, Netflix’s original content has been growing in size and has maintained a pretty good level of quality, with shows like Daredevil, Sense8, Narcos, and Marco Polo, and movies like Beasts of No Nation and Keith Richards documentary Under the Influence. And while the rights to broadcast the acclaimed House of Cards and Orange is the New Black shows have been sold off to other content providers, the company is slowly trying to buy them back.

Upcoming shows and movies include second Marvel joint Jessica Jones, Aziz Ansari vehicle Master of None, and Bill Murray Christmas special A Very Murray Christmas, as well as several children’s shows.

In addition, Netflix has managed to get global rights for certain shows it does not produce, like Jane the Virgin, Blacklist, Gotham, How to Get Away with Murder, and Breaking Bad, which will also be available at launch here. All the content will stream in HD and 4K. HDR (High Dynamic Range), the new flavor-of-the-year in TVs, will be supported in certain cases (such as season two of Marco Polo, but it remains to be seen if the technology will catch on.

More Asian content

“[In Asia] we’ll probably have a bigger selection of K-drama or Cantonese TV than in the US,” Jonathan says. “Each market is different and what we’ve learned is that we know a lot more about each market the day after we’ve arrived. You learn what people want and you adapt.”

You won’t be seeing original programming coming from this region just yet, though. The company has “nothing to announce” on working with local filmmakers and producers for original content in Southeast Asia, although there’s no reason why this couldn’t change if the service proves popular and there is demand for it.

See: Netflix confirms September launch in Japan, its first foray into AsiaThe closest thing to a Southeast Asia-based production for now will continue to be Marco Polo, shooting at the Pinewood Iskandar studios in Johor, Malaysia.

Language-wise, the service will support Chinese, both traditional and simplified, out of the gate, as well as English. Other languages will continue to be added over time.

Pricing will be similar to the US

Content will not be censored (maybe)

Competition in the region is welcome