Ignore the haters: Netflix has a successful and awesome model

Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

If you want to predict the demise of Netflix, go ahead—but somewhere there’s a hat for you, ready to be eaten.
Slate writer James Ledbetter • Reminding all you jerks not to count out Netflix, because they’ve actually been hugely successful over the years. Ledbetter suggests it might be because the model at launch seemed so simple – they did one thing (rent movies via mail) and did it really well. Despite the many naysayers, the company’s currently trading at $130 and has a very successful digital video platform that even Apple’s bowing to. As a wise man once said time and time again: Haters gonna hate. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 00:10

Steve Jobs needed a good keynote today, after all of the crappy PR Apple has faced over the last few months. And he did a great job. Too bad that guy had to go into the Discovery Building and hold it hostage. But that said, the products were pretty cool. Our favorites were the new iPod Nanos (above) and the freshly updated iPod Touch. And the Apple TV update was definitely a good move – especially the newfound focus on Netflix. We’re totally pouring a 40, though, for the old-school iPod Classic, which wasn’t updated at all this year (though it’s still for sale). source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20
million the number of people who use Netflix, which has only been around about 12 years
24
million the number of people who use Comcast, which has been around over 40 years

$9M the amount Netflix paid studios for streaming films in the second quarter of last year
$66M the amount Netflix spent on acquiring movies for its streaming service this past quarter
$116M the amount the company paid to movie studios for in the first six months of 2010 source

» A win-win relationship? While the relationship clearly favors the film studios at this point, the success of Netflix’s streaming model has proven fruitful, especially since it hasn’t come at a higher cost to the consumer. While Netflix has pushed more money into streaming distribution, they’ve had to put less into their DVD budgets, meaning that money is shifting from one platform to another. Oh, and it helps that they’ve nailed streaming movies better than anyone else. (Hat tip to Jeff Greco for finding this.)

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

Beyond the mail delays and the botched orders, the lack of human interaction is the big problem with Netflix and its cyber-ilk.
Richard Corliss • In an opinion piece on Netflix, and why he doesn’t like it. Despite its huge success (two billion discs served over a decade), it feels hollow and imperfect to him. He specifically brings up the loss of his local video store, Kim’s Video, which closed earlier this year. But more than anything, he criticizes how it makes people shut-ins: “So, O.K., soon there will be no more waiting for DVDs. But it’ll come at a price. You’ll be what the online corporate culture wants you to be: a passive, inert receptacle for its products.” Ouch! • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink