More than two-thirds of digital pay TV subscribers in Western Europe can now potentially subscribe to Netflix through their pay TV provider as the streamer's drive to strike 'on-boarding' deals hits new heights. Netflix began striking deals in Europe to join traditional pay TV platforms back in 2013 through a ground-breaking deal with Virgin Media in the UK. The streamer has since pushed hard to sign agreements with Europe's largest pay TV providers, either as an app via the box or fully integrated into the programme guide. The strategy has also been rolled out across the rest of the world. By the end of June 2019, Netflix's potential reach through pay TV partners hit 72% of digital pay TV homes in Western Europe. While not all homes currently have the required hardware to access Netflix, they have the opportunity to subscribe via their pay TV operator. The figure shows both the huge opportunity of operator partnerships and the strategic turn-around in the industry which has moved on from the early days of streaming when Netflix was seen as root of all evil. Netflix's potential operator reach exceeds the Western European average in all of the big five European markets bar Italy (where a deal with Sky will kick in later this year). In both Spain and the UK, 100% of pay TV homes can potentially get Netflix through their pay TV operators. The Nordics trails behind at just 62%, where satellite platform Viasat has yet to bring Netflix into the fold. With most of the other major pay TV operators in the region already signed up, Netflix will need to focus on smaller cable deals to push its pay TV reach further.