Netflix
NETFLIX
Netflix, Inc. is an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media in North and South America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States, where mailed DVDs are sent via Permit Reply Mail. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It started its subscription-based digital distribution service in 1999 and by 2009 it was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD and had surpassed 10 million subscribers. On February 25, 2007, Netflix announced the billionth DVD delivery. In April 2011, Netflix announced 23.6 million subscribers in the United States and over 26 million worldwide. By 2011, the total digital revenue for Netflix reached at least $1.5 billion. However, on 23 October 2012, Netflix reported an 88% fall in third-quarter profits. Netflix offers Internet video streaming ("Watch Instantly") of selected titles to computers running Windows or Mac OS X and to compatible devices. Internet video streaming once came at no additional charge with Netflix's regular subscription service; however, only a portion of Netflix's content is available via the "Watch Instantly" option. In its simplest form, video is streamed to the user using standard PC hardware, and requires Microsoft's Silverlight software to be installed. Viewing is initiated by pressing a "Play Instantly" button, and played back on the PC monitor. Films can be paused or restarted at will. According to a 2011 report by Sandvine, Netflix is the biggest source of North American web traffic, accounting for 33% of traffic during peak periods and 28.8% of aggregate traffic.
Initially, the feature offered subscribers one hour of media for approximately every dollar they spent on their subscription. (A $16.99 plan, for example, entitled the subscriber to 17 hours of streaming media.) In January 2008, however, Netflix lifted this restriction, at which point virtually all
Netflix, Inc. is an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media in North and South America, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States, where mailed DVDs are sent via Permit Reply Mail. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It started its subscription-based digital distribution service in 1999 and by 2009 it was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD and had surpassed 10 million subscribers. On February 25, 2007, Netflix announced the billionth DVD delivery. In April 2011, Netflix announced 23.6 million subscribers in the United States and over 26 million worldwide. By 2011, the total digital revenue for Netflix reached at least $1.5 billion. However, on 23 October 2012, Netflix reported an 88% fall in third-quarter profits. Netflix offers Internet video streaming ("Watch Instantly") of selected titles to computers running Windows or Mac OS X and to compatible devices. Internet video streaming once came at no additional charge with Netflix's regular subscription service; however, only a portion of Netflix's content is available via the "Watch Instantly" option. In its simplest form, video is streamed to the user using standard PC hardware, and requires Microsoft's Silverlight software to be installed. Viewing is initiated by pressing a "Play Instantly" button, and played back on the PC monitor. Films can be paused or restarted at will. According to a 2011 report by Sandvine, Netflix is the biggest source of North American web traffic, accounting for 33% of traffic during peak periods and 28.8% of aggregate traffic.
Initially, the feature offered subscribers one hour of media for approximately every dollar they spent on their subscription. (A $16.99 plan, for example, entitled the subscriber to 17 hours of streaming media.) In January 2008, however, Netflix lifted this restriction, at which point virtually all