[quote=flu]HP over the past year fit the mold. I can only thing of one company that foobared even greater than HP…. Netflix….. And damn that would have been a pretty short….[/quote]
I disagree when you put Netflix into the same category as HP. What Netflix did wrong in their strategy? They have to increase price and they have to separate DVD and streaming. Maybe they didn’t handle it nicely but it is just short-term pain for long-term gain.
The most crucial difference is that for HP, they have many competitors around to take over their market shares. I don’t think it is the case for Netflix. What are the consumers options?
Redbox? If you have one near you AND you don’t mind the limited selection AND you don’t mind waiting in the line with someone before you procrastinating for half an hour.
Amazon? If you don’t mind their even poorer streaming selection. And the content providers are hating Netflix for $8/month streaming, how much are they going to love Amazon streaming when it is thrown out for free when you sign up prime shipping?
Apple? Do they even offer the Netflix model when you have unlimited streaming for a fixed price?
DISH’s blockbuster? $10/month for 4,000 streaming titles and you have to be a DISH subscriber?
Hulu Plus? Do they even have movies?
Besides, most of the in-home entertainment devices (TV, Blu-ray player, gaming devices) are Netflix ready, making it harder for people to switch to other no-name providers. I think the negative blast on Netflix is overdone. Just like Netflix has been saying that 1/3 of their churned customer returns within a year. I don’t think the customers have any other choices except more expensive cable/satellite TV, VOD, etc at the moment…and they eventually have to come back, if the Netflix can use its increased cash reserve to license more streaming content.
The only stupid thing that Netflix did was to use cash to buy back stock and the other issue with Netflix is its stock price was over-valued. Now it is close to the right pricing and may soon become a very attractive pricing for the long-term investors.
