Netflix's Next Original Show: 'Earnings Call,' Starring CEO Reed Hastings

Updated

Netflix (NFLX) isn't done breaking rules. In what may be his craziest move yet, CEO Reed Hastings and the company's chief financial officer, David Wells, will take to the Web on July 22 to broadcast the company's financial results live, via video, to anyone who chooses to tune in.

That's right: The streaming sensation's next big move is to stream itself.

At least this production will be cheap. Two seasons of "House of Cards" cost a reported $100 million to produce. Hastings and Wells' performance won't cost shareholders a dime -- unless, that is, the numbers fail to live up to expectations.

Analysts will be looking for at least $0.39 in adjusted earnings per share during the second quarter, according to consensus estimates.

Importantly, Hastings and Wells won't be alone in front of the camera. BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield and CNBC reporter Julia Boorstin will help moderate the "show," which some will no doubt call a stunt given Hastings' history.

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Rewind to July 2011, when he took to Facebook (FB) to announce that viewers had consumed 1 billion hours of streamed programming the quarter before. The SEC would later call the post a material disclosure and serve Netflix with a "Wells notice" signifying a formal investigation into whether the company had violated the strictures of Regulation FD.

Regulators have since backed off, perhaps recognizing that social media -- Twitter, especially -- is already a huge source of information for investors.

Will they come calling again, now that Hastings plans to take a stick of dynamite to the traditional earnings call format? Don't bet on it.

Netflix original programming has never looked so interesting.

Motley Fool contributor Tim Beyers owned shares of Netflix at the time of publication. He was also long Jan. 2014 $50 Netflix call options. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and Netflix.

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