Netflix expands to Spain, Italy, Portugal

US film and television-streaming giant Netflix said Wednesday it will launch in Spain, Italy and Portugal in late October, expanding its global drive to compete with traditional channels.

The online service for streaming films and television series will launch in Spain on October 20, Portugal on the 21st and Italy on the 22nd, it announced in videos published online.

Netflix executive Neil Hunt was quoted by Spanish newspaper El Periodico in September as saying a subscription to the service would cost from 7.99 euros (about $9.00) per month.

Netflix was founded in 1997 and has more than 65 million users in 55 countries, most of them in the United States.

It launched in Japan this month and said it also plans to do so in South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The company reported sales of $5.5 billion last year.