Netflix (Rightly) Ditches Film Funding [NewTeeVee]

Netflix is shutting down Red Envelope Entertainment, its department that invested in low-budget and documentary films. The company said it was shuttering the unit, which employed four people, because it competed with Hollywood studios (Netflix’s bread and butter). This is good news; Netlifx needs to rid itself of distractions and focus on a content streaming future. Red Envelope invested in more than 100 films, including The Puffy Chair, a low-budget road trip comedy by the Duplass brothers. Netflix didn’t release financial results for the unit, but a Piper Jaffray analyst told Bloomberg News that Red Envelope probably contributed 1 to 3 percent of Netflix’s $1.2 billion in sales last year. Netflix doesn’t need to be in the business of finding little films that could. Yes, it was great that it funded documentaries, but the... [read full story]