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Netflix Users Stream 3,000 Lifetimes Worth of Content

TMCnews Featured Article


January 05, 2012

Netflix Users Stream 3,000 Lifetimes Worth of Content

By Monica Gleberman, Contributing Writer


Netflix subscribers broke a record when users watched more than 2 billion hours of movie and TV shows streamed from the entertainment company during the last three months of the year.


Netflix allows users to stream television shows, movies, and other content on demand with a monthly subscription. Netflix provided data that indicate that the company’s new focus on their streaming service has remained strong with its customers. Netflix faced some problems earlier in the year when the company, which previously offered packages that allowed users to receive DVDs mailed to their home as well as access to the online streaming content decided to divide the services and increase the subscriber fee.

Then Netflix faced another public relations fiasco when the company announced they were going to create a spin-off company forcing customers to maintain two separate accounts if they decided to subscribe to both at home DVDs as well as the streaming service. Shortly after a customer outcry with more than 800,000 customers leaving the service, the company nixed the idea.

However, the streaming service still seems to be going strong. According to the numbers, 20 million streaming customers each watched an average of 33 ours of content per month. In November, by comparison, Hulu’s (News - Alert) 31 million unique viewers watched an average of just over three hours of content.

Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, said that Netflix could not be happier with the result of the streaming popularity. “Netflix delights members by giving them a choice, convenience and control over the entertainment they love for an incredibly low price,” said Hastings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the average American lifespan is just less than 78 years. At the rate that subscribers are accessing and streaming content from Netflix, users in the United States, Canada, and Latin America combined have watch the equivalent of nearly 3,000 lifetimes worth of content within the past three months.

After the news of the increase in popularity for streaming, Netflix’s stock jumped 11 percent on Wednesday, closing at more than $80 per share.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

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Edited by Rich Steeves