In 1999, Netflix got it’s first subscriber. In 2013, it has surpassed historic cable giant HBO in American?subscribers for the first time ever.
According to reports, by the end of March 2013, Netflix had 29.17 million subscribers, while HBO had slightly less. As recently as the end of 2012, HBO was in the lead by about 1.5 million subscribers. I can’t wait to see what this does to intensify company rivalry. This isn’t just company competition: This is an outright rivalry, reminiscent of the? east vs. west rap wars or pro wrestling?Monday night?wars?back in the 1990s.?But?HBO can still brag?about being a bigger force internationally. They have over 110 million world subscribers; Netflix have only 7 million.
But the good news for Netflix doesn’t stop there. To better serve large households, they?plan to extend the two movie/TV stream limit from two to four, for an additional $11.99. But this is only available in the US, and will do nothing to help global numbers.?I don’t know what HBO’s offering these days, but looking at these numbers, they need to be offering something.
Wall Street is taking notice too.? Their shares are up nearly 20 percent, and those numbers are expected to increase. Wow! Back in the early 2000s, when people said Netflix would put video stores out of business, I didn’t believe it! Now, I see what used to be Blockbusters and independent video chains are now ghosts of better days. But Netflix needs to something about their international market in order to stay strong. How long will Netflix’s gravy train last?