Despite wanting a presence in China 's huge media market for many years , Netflix is to ditch any launch sites in China due to a " challenging " regulatory environment , and will " license content to existing online service providers in China rather than operate our own service , " though it still maintains a long - standing desire to " serve the Chinese people directly " . CEO Reed has noted that for now it was " really focused on the rest of the world . There is so much opportunity for us in India , Poland , Turkey , Latin America , and Vietnam " . China does have notoriously tight regulations regarding foreign digital services and media , with many imported TV shows and movies needing some kind of censorship to its local standards .
Despite wanting a presence in China's huge media landscape for many years, Netflix is to ditch any launch plans in China due to a "challenging" regulatory environment, and will "license content to existing online service providers in China rather than operate our own service," though it still maintains a long-term desire to "serve the Chinese people directly". CEO Reed Hastings noted that for now it was "really focused on the rest of the world. There is so much opportunity for us in India, Poland, Turkey, Latin America, and Vietnam". China does have notoriously tight regulations regarding foreign digital services and media, with many imported TV shows and movies needing some kind of censorship to its local standards.