Netflix subscriptions have hit a milestone, exceeding 20 million subscribers. Few cable operators come close to that number. And while the subscription fee is far lower than a cable subscription, so are the costs. "Netflix said it added 500,000 subscribers during the quarter, giving it a total of 20 million, and expects to end the first quarter with 21.9 million to 22.8 million." That is some exceptional growth.
As winter snows have kept us homebound, we have pushed through our on demand choices, free, premium, and yes even transactional. Trying to find shows that would appeal to a boy and girls' sensibilities as well as their parents. Not too violent, not too romantic, but enough to appeal to the very wide interests of my family. Not easy. And yes, we also make concessions, one action movie for one romantic one. But as we sift through the on demand choices, we wonder, should we consider adding Netflix. And with that purchase, do we drop a premium, two, or more.
So I wonder, is Netflix an additive purchase by these 20 million consumers or a shift? Are these new subscribers dropping services or even cord cutting to take advantage of a Netflix subscription, or are they adding to their choice? Is Netflix playing a zero sum game against cable or simply augmenting the playing field for consumers eager to get content across more devices? I certainly would love to see that percentage of homes that have both a cable and Netflix subscription and those that have dropped a premium in favor of Netflix. An interesting research study of the entertainment landscape.
We started out with Netflix in addition to regular cable to try it out as an alternative, then dropped cable 6-8 weeks after starting Netflix.
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