California-based Netflix said in a statement its
subscriptions would start at 7.99 euros ($10.35) a month and
give access to films, series and documentaries on television,
computers but also tablets, smartphones and game consoles.
Bouygues Telecom said in a separate statement that it would
feature access to Netflix services on its clients' televisions
starting in November. It is the first French operator to do so.
Vivendi-owned pay-TV operator Canal Plus has already launched
its own streaming video services to blunt Netflix's arrival. So
has France's leading telecom player Orange, which said in July
it would not market Netflix when it launches.
Beyond France, Netflix is expanding into Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg this month, taking its
international addressable market to more than 180 million
broadband households — double the current U.S. market.
In an effort to tailor its services to French tastes, Netflix
plans to produce an original series in France, called
"Marseille", a political thriller set in the southern port city.
It also bought the rights to a French kids cartoon called Wakfu
created by an independent studio Ankama in northern France.
(Reporting by Natalie Huet; Editing by Andrew Callus)
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