Many Netflix users over the past weekend watched the entire second season of House of Cards. The second season was made available in full and this marketing strategy helps Netflix to encourage fans to "binge" watch but in a twist few saw coming, House of Cards can be viewed in China and is very popular.
The show can be found on the site Sohu. Sohu, is one of the biggest online video services over in China and purchased the rights to the series for the mainland of China. Sohu posted the second season at the same time as Neftlix, CNN reported.
During the second season of Cards the United States is seen having tension and political issues with China. Which adds another layer of complexity.
Charles Zhang, Sohu's chief executive for Sohu spoke about the plot development that involved China in season two. "We didn't know the second season would have so much to do with China -- probably because of the increasing importance of China in global affairs. Many Chinese people -- including officials -- are watching it now and we have had no problem," said Zhang.
The show wasn't prescreened by Chinese regulators and airs uncensored, WSJ reported.
China has made their censorship known, the government will only allow 34 foreign films to be screened in cinemas every year.
image: Wikimedia Commons
