Media Moguls Ask: Is Netflix Friend Or Foe?

Netflix last week was the object of�envy and�fear. The firm that?s evolving from DVD-by-mail provider to Web video subscription service showed�in latest quarterly earnings that it?s growing at an astonishing rate. By charging as little as $7.99 a month, Netflix signed up 3.6 million new subscribers in the first three months of 2011 giving it a total of 23.6 million. That?s a 69% increase in just one year, and puts Netflix ahead of Comcast and Sirius XM. Still, media executives don?t know what to make of the company. Is it friend or foe? Is it just another customer for studio-produced movies and TV shows looking to complement existing broadcast and pay TV providers? Or is Netflix poised to become a competitor to existing channels ? and even a formidable new gatekeeper for Internet entertainment? The most realistic fear is that Netflix will amass enough subscribers so it can dictate prices to studios that want to transmit their entertainment over the Web to PCs, smartphones, and tablet computers -- as well as living room TV sets.�If Netflix keeps its subscription price low, then it also may devalue all entertainment: A $4 charge for a VOD movie would look out of whack when you can watch an entire month of interesting shows for just twice that amount. But some industry forecasters say Netflix could do far more damage to existing business models if it drives a consumer stampede ... Read More »

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/media-moguls-ask-is-netflix-friend-or-foe/

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