Cries of jubilation in Israel that US-based content streaming company Netflix would be available in Israel starting Wednesday were cut short upon revelation that the company's catalogue would be severely limited.
Its first original hit series, House of Cards, as well as the latest season of Orange is the New Black, are absent from the catalogue for Israeli users.
In previous years, Netflix licensed its original content to local providers such as Yes, Hot and Cellcom, who still have the rights to show the series. In an odd twist, Netflix in Israel will not be able to show the upcoming seasons of those shows. Big fans of those particular Netflix series will have to turn to its television competitors to see the new seasons when they debut.
Netflix is banking that its more recent offerings, which it stopped licensing abroad in recent months, will offer enough of a draw to users to get them to sign up for their $8-a-month plans. Shows such as Jessica Jones, Making a Murderer, Master of None and Narcos will be available exclusively through the streaming site.
The absence of its biggest hit series will be a comfort to local providers, as will its limited movie catalogue. In Israel, the service doesn't offer any of the seven films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award last year or the year before. It offer the made-for-TV Mean Girls 2, but not the original Tina Fey hit Mean Girls.
It does, however, include some less recent classics and blockbusters such as Grease, American Beauty, 300, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Shrek movies.
By Niv Elis
