Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix at The Canadian Club / Produced by Toronto Standard / February 3, 2012

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40 years (if so, how are you reading this?) you have heard how media is constantly changing. With every great technological shift, there is also a profound shift in how we consume media. From the development of papyrus to the printing press, television, the Internet and smartphones, tablet devices, the list goes on–and will continue to do so well into the future. 

Few understand this better than Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. Reed has been an active player in a shift that is having an effect on how we consume entertainment. Netflix has (in a relatively short period of time) developed a way to access unlimited content, for a small flat rate, without leaving our couches. This is good for the consumer, but it is straight-up terrible for rental companies, Blockbuster for instance.

During this lecture presented by Canadian Club, Reed discussed the move from distributing content to actively funding and producing original content, the importance of making mistakes and what the future holds for Netflix. We also spoke one-on-one with Steve Swasey, VP of Corporate Communications about the driving motivations of Netflix’s developments thus far. 

____

Geoff Snack will sometimes write about Culture and Media. He also knows some great jokes. Follow him on Twitter at @GeoffSnack.

For more, follow us on Twitter at @torontostandard, and subscribe to our newsletter.