Netflix’s first original series, HOUSE OF CARDS

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With the studios and Hulu infringing on Netflix’s turf, the DVD-rental-turned-Internet-TV company needed a big move. And boy did make one.

Netflix announced on Friday that they would be the exclusive US and Canadian distributor of the 26-episode series House of Cards, from executive producers Kevin Spacey and David Fincher.

Here’s what Netflix’s Chief Content Office Ted Sarandos had to say on the official Netflix blog:

We’re delighted to tell you that in late 2012 Netflix will be bringing to our members in the U.S. and Canada exclusively House of Cards, the much-anticipated television series and political thriller from Executive Producer David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. We’ve committed to at least 26 episodes of the serialized drama, which is based on a BBC mini-series from the 1990s that’s been a favorite of Netflix members. Originally written as a novel by former UK Conservative Party Chief of Staff Michael Dobbs, “House of Cards,” explores the ruthless underside of British politics at the end of the Thatcher era. Reset against the backdrop of modern-day U.S. electoral politics, this new one-hour drama follows Spacey as an ambitious politician with his eye on the top job.

The full blog post is humble enough, without going in to just how immense this change may be. Netflix just became a competitor to premium cable, basic cable, and broadcast channels when it comes to acquiring content. For users who’ve trusted Netflix for years (like me whose subscribed since 2002) because they know their audience , Business Insider’s Tristan Louis had an insight into the decision to pick-up House of Cards with the Netflix audience in mind:

Every time members watch a movie, Netflix gets some data as to whether they watched it fully and often times, Netflix members rate the movies, declaring their interests and preferences along the way. On an individual basis, the data is used to tailor recommendations of other movies a subscriber may be interested in. In the aggregate, however, it give Netflix a clear advantage in that it knows exactly what its membership is interested in.

But there’s always a downside, right? Netflix won’t likely get HBO content anytime soon and the distribution company might have more trouble with the big media companies when it comes to acquiring their content. And as one Netflix blog commenter points out, the ISPs, like AT&T, are already planning monthly data caps.

How will that affect Netflix and Internet TV consumers as a whole? I would imagine it’s only a matter of time before content providers start subsidizing ISPs to some extent.

Regardless, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s an exciting time to be an entertainment consumer.