Netflix, Inc. is the world's leading DVD (Digital Video Disc) rent-by-mail company. The firm has more than 1.1 million subscribers who typically pay a monthly fee of $19.95 for unlimited rentals, provided they have no more than 3 discs out at one time. The company offers more than 15,000 titles and maintains an inventory of more than 5 million discs. To speed delivery, Netflix has opened more than 20 regional shipping centers around the United States, and most DVDs are received by customers a day or two after ordering them on the company's Web site. More than a third of the publicly traded company is owned by Jay Hoag's Technology Crossover Ventures.
In February 2000, NetFlix introduced a new service, CineMatch, which compared rental patterns among its customers and looked for similarities in taste, using this information to recommend titles to people whose profiles were similar. It could also be programmed to combine the attributes of two users, such as a married couple, and recommend titles that both might like. The information gleaned from the CineMatch system, which required customers to rate 20 films using a five-star scale, was also shared with movie studios to help them plan marketing campaigns. Early the next year, the company changed the Marquee Program to offer unlimited rentals for $19.95 a month, with a maximum of four titles out at a given time, though this was later dropped to three. Shipping and handling were included in the price. At the same time, the firm phased out single-title rentals, as 97 percent of its business was now derived from the Marquee Program. The company was currently distributing more than 100,000 DVDs per week
In January 2001, NetFlix signed a deal that gave it exclusive distribution of the DVD version of a recent arthouse hit, Croupier,which it would have for three months before the title was available elsewhere. Other such deals were reportedly in the works. An important aspect of NetFlix's business was the availability of titles that were not found in mainstream video stores like Blockbuster, and the company had great success tapping into the underserved markets for independent and foreign films. One particular area of success was in renting so-called "Bollywood" films from India. The firm offered about a thousand titles in this category, and these circulated frequently. NetFlix also found that subscribers were renting many lesser-known films after they had been suggested by the company's recommendation system. Because they were not paying for each movie individually, NetFlix customers could take a chance on an interesting-sounding title that they didn't already know.In the end, I do remain unconvinced although I would say that I tend more to be long Netflix (NFLX) at the moment, but would love to hear your thoughts on this name!
In February 2000, NetFlix introduced a new service, CineMatch, which compared rental patterns among its customers and looked for similarities in taste, using this information to recommend titles to people whose profiles were similar. It could also be programmed to combine the attributes of two users, such as a married couple, and recommend titles that both might like. The information gleaned from the CineMatch system, which required customers to rate 20 films using a five-star scale, was also shared with movie studios to help them plan marketing campaigns. Early the next year, the company changed the Marquee Program to offer unlimited rentals for $19.95 a month, with a maximum of four titles out at a given time, though this was later dropped to three. Shipping and handling were included in the price. At the same time, the firm phased out single-title rentals, as 97 percent of its business was now derived from the Marquee Program. The company was currently distributing more than 100,000 DVDs per week
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