You can rent Brazil and The Boys From Brazil through Netflix
In a few months, there may be an entirely new connection between Netflix and Brazil.
Latin America appears to be the video rental giant's next international market, with Brazil as the likely initial target for expansion.
Bloomberg is reporting that Netflix is in negotiations with Disney
Will a "streaming only" product fly in Latin America? Skeptics wondered the same thing about Netflix's entry into Canada last year. Seven months later, Netflix is up to 800,000 subscribers.
The couch potatoes are there. DIRECTV
Latin America is also Web savvy. Regional marketplace operator MercadoLibre
Netflix has already indicated that it will enter a single new territory later this year, following that up quickly with a new market early in 2012. The United Kingdom is a logical target for either slot. Latin America makes sense for the other.
It remains to be seen if Netflix will introduce itself throughout Latin America in a single shot or if it will cherry pick between the countries. Brazil and U.S. neighbor Mexico would make the most sense as launch markets.
It also bears pointing out that while most of Latin America speaks Spanish, in Brazil, it's Portuguese. In other words, it's not just about licensing. There will be country-specific dubbing or subtitle overlaying to tackle.
Latin America makes sense, but it won't make cents in the near term. Netflix expects to rack up $50 million to $70 million in operating losses during the second half of the year as it seizes the global expansion opportunity.
You can't rent Road to Rio from Netflix, but I'm guessing that CEO Reed Hastings knows it quite well.
Which international markets should Netflix target after Canada? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.