Netflix reported a blowout quarter on Monday as its subscribers in the United States surged to more than 29 million, thus giving it even more paid monthly subscribers than HBO. The stock jumped more than 25% on the news. But financials and subscriber numbers are only part of what makes Netflix such a success story: According to NPR, some analysts are now estimating that “Netflix alone takes up a third of U.S. bandwidth between 9:00 PM and midnight.” Given these sorts of enormous bandwidth requirements, it’s easy to see why Netflix keeps such close track of how fast ISPs’ connections deliver video streams to the home, since slower connections inhibit the company’s ability to grow its online business.
An illustration of just how massive Netflix has become
Published Apr 23rd, 2013 12:55PM EDT
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Netflix
Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.
