CEO Reed Hastings says the original series “met all of (our) expectations” in becoming “a great success”, although he offered no concrete data to analysts today at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference. House Of Cards, the political drama from Media Rights Capital, should be seen as “confirmation of the thesis that we can build something really important.” Its full value in leading people to subscribe to Netflix will become evident when the next season is available. “In the beginning you’re developing a foundation,” Hastings says. Still, he urged investors not to focus too much on House Of Cards‘ performance. “It’s our most viewed content today, but it’s not the center of the company. It may be the center of the PR for a while. That’s OK.” While he doesn’t want people to “think of us as the original content company,” Hastings made it clear that originals will be key to its growth. He talked up Hemlock Grove, a horror show that Netflix will offer in April. “It’s completely different” than House Of Cards, he says. “For many people in this audience, you’ll be grossed out. We’re going to push the boundaries.” He also assured investors that the next season of Lilyhammer is “in great shape.” These shows and others can be successful for Netflix even if they draw fewer viewers than a conventional broadcast TV hit. “We’re not marketing to limited shelf space” — the number of hours in primetime — he says. With the viewer data Netflix collects, “you can figure out what to produce and who to merchandise it to…Selective merchandising is very profitable.”