netflix

Netflix is a convenient and affordable service that has truly revolutionized the way people watch TV. The service is available for as low as $7.99 per month for unlimited access to thousands of TV shows and movies on any device. While the company limits the number of users that can simultaneously stream a video, Netflix doesn’t seem to care about users sharing their accounts with friends, family members or roommates. If you have a Netflix account, chances are that you have shared your password with another person. In fact, it has been estimated that as many as 10 million people are accessing the service without paying. More →

Netflix on Wednesday lost almost 1,800 titles from its streaming library as licensing deals with studios like MGM, Warner Bros. and Universal expired. Titles now removed from the catalog include all 15 seasons of South Park, classic James Bond films like Dr. No and Goldfinger, and Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories. A Netflix spokesperson told The Verge that “Netflix is a dynamic service, we constantly update the TV shows and movies that are available to our members.” He added that as of May 1st, the company added more than 500 new titles such as ParaNorman and The Hunger Games. The spokesperson said that a “vast majority” of the expired titles were older features from an expired deal with Epix, noting that “this ebb and flow happens all the time.” More →

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.

For a monthly fee of $7.99, Netflix customers have access to a wide variety of TV shows, movies and original content. More often than not, however, users frequently share accounts between family members and friends due to the company’s relaxed policies. Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities believes chief executive Reed Hastings should try to squeeze more profit from his 33.3 million customers by “cracking down on piracy” or even raising prices. The analyst claims that as many as 10 million people are accessing the service without paying, which is ultimately hurting Netflix’s potential revenue. More →