Netflix: great for Hong Kong viewers, not so good for home-grown talent

Like many Hongkongers, I was very happy to hear of Netflix’s entrance to the Hong Kong market. No other developed city in the world is more starved of quality original content (read: television shows whose plot lines are not predictable to an eight-year-old child).

Whenever I tell friends abroad that I only have four television channels, they look at me like I’ve suffered some horrible accident. And, if you think about it, not having good TV in this day and age is a type of suffering.

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That’s because good television doesn’t just help shape culture, it’s a basic prerequisite for culture. When a show touches a nerve, it has the power to bring people together and effect change in a way that few other mediums can.

That’s what’s missing in Hong Kong. It was a void I had come to accept, one I assumed would always go unfilled.

Then, along comes Netflix with its influx of shows from abroad; finally, we Hongkongers will get to experience what it feels like to be swept up in a global hit TV show – the excitement, the anticipation of what’s going to happen, the fun premiere parties at home.

But not so fast. Let’s go back to the word “global” for a second. Netflix does indeed offer a wide array of shows and arguably any one of the shows is better than what’s currently on TV; however, few, if any, of the shows are made in Hong Kong.

And while I think Netflix’s goal is impressive, to allow everyone, everywhere to access the same content, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of having quality locally produced content.