On Sunday, Jeff Bezos tweeted in praise of Netflix and its internationalization strategy that has turned several obscure, non-English shows into global hits. The show that inspired this tweet from Mr Bezos (whose Amazon Prime Video is in direct competition with Netflix) is Squid Game. Set in South Korea, this dystopian story of cash-strapped contestants competing in children's games has become an international phenomenon, with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos predicting that it might soon dethrone Bridgerton and The Witcher as the platform's most sampled original-series launch ever, reports Vulture.
Mr Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, shared the Vulture's article on Squid Game while praising Netflix. "Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and the team at Netflix get it right so often," he wrote on Twitter. "Their internationalization strategy isn't easy, and they're making it work," he said, praising it as both inspiring and impressive.
"(And I can't wait to watch the show)" Jeff Bezos added.
The tweet of appreciation surprised many on the microblogging platform, with people wondering if Mr Bezos was perhaps hinting at a collaboration with Netflix. Some even suggested that he was interested in acquiring the streaming platform, but Mr Bezos put all speculation to rest in a follow-up tweet.
"Something's up," one Twitter user wrote while quote-tweeting Jeff Bezos's post on Netflix.
"No, just simple admiration," Mr Bezos responded.
Squid Game has become a viral hit in the two weeks since it was released on Netflix. The show soared in popularity, with news agency Reuters reporting that South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of a surge of viewers.
