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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
- Netflix is reportedly planning to make a weekly TV news magazine show like CBS' "60 Minutes" and ABC's "20/20," according to MarketWatch.
- A TV-executive source told the outlet that the Netflix is "proceeding with caution" to enter the TV news business with a "sharp, balanced" weekly show.
- The potential TV news show would be the first of its kind for the streaming service.
Netflix is reportedly planning to make a weekly TV news magazine show to rival CBS' "60 Minutes" and ABC's "20/20," according to MarketWatch.
A TV executive who worked with Netflix on a recent documentary series told MarketWatch that the streaming service is "proceeding with caution" to enter the TV news business with a "sharp, balanced" weekly show.
"Netflix have spotted a hole in the market for a current affairs TV show encompassing both sides of the political divide and are seeking to fill it," the source told the outlet, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"Netflix are proceeding with caution over this because they're well aware that most new current affairs shows underwhelm and are expensive," the source continued. "They want to make their show economically viable without compromising the production costs and newsgathering operation."
Though Netflix has released a number of talk shows from comedians like David Letterman, Chelsea Handler, and Joel McHale (to varying degrees of success), the potential TV news show would be the first of its kind for the streaming service.
Netflix has said it will spend over $8 billion on original content in 2018, and a TV news program is the latest reported project that signals a more political-oriented bent to its original content.
The New York Times reported last week that former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are also in talks to produce content for Netflix, which will focus on "the power of storytelling to inspire."