The $100 Million bet by Netflix to get into the original content game

Netflix is a major force on the web as they continue to grow and take a large percentage of our online viewing time. The company is constantly looking at ways to grow its audience but the one thing that the company has stayed away from, especially after shutting down its Red Envelope indie film division, is getting behind original content made just for Netflix.

Well according to a report out of Deadline Hollywood this could be about to change given that Netflix has outbid several traditional old media networks for the series “House of Cards”. The deal is reported to be in the neighborhood of $100 million,or more.

For a company that has only 20 million subscribers, in contrast to the cable networks which have 127 million subscribers, this could be a huge gamble but one that if it pays off could hold big dividends for Netflix. Not to mention giving the cable executives yet another reason to be stocking up on cases of aspirins.