Strategy in TECH...
You knew they were big, but you didn’t know just how big streaming innovator (and leader) Netflix really was…until now. In a bid to prove to investors they have what it takes to stave off a whole new class of streaming competitors, Netflix released some detailed numbers on their global subscription base that has Wall Street really buzzing.
In a new survey released today by E-Poll Market Research, Netflix is the first choice for watching a TV show among those respondents who have been exposed to streaming programming. And for the first time, this result is true for all age demographics – with Baby Boomers the last to join the party.
Dish Network Corp. announced today that it is the first major pay-TV provider in the U.S. to integrate the Netflix app into its set-top box. With this system, available on their second generation Hopper, users can access their favorite Netflix movies and shows, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. And this Netflix content resides side-by-side with “linear” TV channels.
Outerwall, Inc. (f/k/a Coinstar), owner of Redbox – the national video rental kiosk powerhouse – made several surprising announcements on Tuesday that suggest the company is dealing with some serious business issues. First, the company announced that Redbox division president, Anne Saunders, has left the company. And second, the company said that it would make significant cuts to its staff…and to other projects.
Dish Network Corporation said today it will close all remaining Blockbuster video store locations and also dismantle the DVD-by-mail service by early-January 2014. According to the company, consumer demand is clearly for digital distribution of media and physical DVDs just don’t make sense anymore.
Businessweek Magazine has published online their latest annual list of the five worst CEOs of the year. The short list, not one that CEOs hope to see their names featured on, is topped this year by a CEO from the consumer electronics retailing industry – none other than Brian Dunn of Best Buy. Dunn, who left Best Buy in April in the wake of a scandal involving an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate, earned the title of the absolute worst chief executive on 2012 – and it wasn’t even because of the affair!
<March 7, 2012> Reuters is reporting today that Netflix, once feared as a predator to many in the Cable TV industry, may be more kitten than lion as it seeks to partner with one or more major cable TV providers in offering Netflix as part of its programming package. Once an unthinkable proposition, Reuters says the company is actively pursuing just such an arrangement. [Read more…] about Netflix Looks to Partner with Major Cable Company
