Netflix vs the Studios
I’m taking a break from doing numerous tweaks to this new site so I can discuss something Nikki Finke just reported on Deadline.
As you know, Netflix has been acquiring a ever-growing library of titles and streams them for a monthly fee (comedy, drama, any genres). They’ve now got nearly twenty million customers. Their business model, which has included putting all their resources into their streaming business, even though they had started out as a DVD mailing company, has proven very successful (then again, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a true American visionary). They put Blockbuster out of business and own the entire block now. But their biggest challenge is yet to come: movie studios. Time Warner, more specifically, seeing that they could be more involved in this aspect of the business, has enlisted Flixster to help counter Netflix’s overwhelming monopoly on online movie streaming (30% of America’s bandwidth is taken up by Netflix-related streaming). How’s it going to play out? Read the Deadline Hollywood article here.