NETFLIX CEO HASTINGS GETS BIG PAY BOOST

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who took a 43 percent pay cut after the blowup of his plan to raise subscription rates and divide the company in two — one to handle streaming, the other to handle physical DVDs — will have his pay doubled next year. Essentially he will receive $4 million next year, half […]

NETFLIX EARNINGS PLUNGE — AS DOES ITS STOCK

Netflix, which continues to show ambivalence in support of its original DVD-by-mail operation, reported an 88-percent drop in third-quarter net income Tuesday, triggering another sell-off of shares by investors. At mid-morning Netflix shares were down nearly 15 percent to 58.55 on the Nasdaq but regained some of its losses after it was reported that its […]

OLYMPICS LIKELY TO BURY OTHER MEDIA

The Olympic Games are likely to hit video store rentals, online streaming sites, and movie theaters hard, analysts have suggested. Executives at those media operations seem to agree. Studios are releasing to high-wattage blockbusters during the Olympics. The dance drama Step Up Revolution and the comedy The Watch head into theaters on Friday and next […]

NETFLIX DRAWS MORE VIEWERS THAN CABLE TV

If Netflix were a cable-TV network rather than a streaming video service it would be ranked number one, according to calculations by BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. He based his assessment on a congratulatory post by Netflix chief Reed Hastings, who said that Netflix’s monthly viewing in June exceeded 1 billion hours for the first time. […]

NETFLIX SHARES PLUNGE AGAIN

Netflix’s first-quarter earnings filing received a mixed reception from analysts on Monday. Several shook their heads over the increased costs to expand internationally and to acquire — and in some cases produce — first-run television shows, costs that produced the company’s first quarterly loss. Others, however, noted that the company appears to be attracting additional […]

NETFLIX MAKES IT EASIER FOR CUSTOMERS TO OPT FOR DVD PLAN

Netflix chief Reed Hastings may repeatedly maintain that streaming is the wave of the future and do all that he can to convert his old DVD-by-mail subscribers to streaming subscribers, but it is the mail business that continues to support the company. On Friday, Netflix announced that new subscribers would be able to sign up […]

NETFLIX SHARES ZOOM ON EARNINGS REPORT

Netflix shares soared 22 percent on the Nasdaq today (Thursday) to $116.01 after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of $41 million on a whopping 43-percent increase in revenue of $876 million. The company, which was beleaguered by subscriber losses and analysts’ downgrades after it substantially raised fees for its combined streaming and DVD-by-mail service, […]

WILL THE INTERNET ABSORB HOME VIDEO?

Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings predicted on Monday that “the era of broadcast TV is going to evolve to click-and-watch with the Internet.” Hastings made the comment in an interview with the London Independent as Netflix launched a low-cost streaming service in the U.K. and Ireland costing just £5.99 ($9.25) per month. Amazon-owned LoveFilm, […]

NETFLIX SHARES RISE ON GOOD NEWS, FALL AGAIN ON BAD

People are watching a lot more movies and TV shows on Netflix’s streaming service than most analysts had suspected. The online movie-rental service, which has not figured in many positive stories of late, said Wednesday that its streaming-service subscribers watched more than 2 billion hours of content in the last quarter of 2011. BTIG Research […]

NETFLIX SUBSCRIBERS EXPRESS MORE DISSATISFACTION

Netflix customers are still angry at the company’s recent moves, but they’re no longer dropping their subscriptions. Industry researcher ForeSee said today (Wednesday) that on its 100-point scale of consumer satisfaction, “Netflix’s well-publicized blunders caused its customer satisfaction to plummet by seven points and 8% to 79.” Once ranked as an online “satisfaction superstar,” the […]

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