While Netflix has long refused to release viewership data, according to a new report in Bloomberg, Netflix has passed HBO in paid subscribers.
Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, reports third-quarter results today after markets close. Already the world’s largest subscription-video service, the company probably reached 30 million paying U.S. customers as of Sept. 30, according to Needham & Co. HBO, Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s premium cable-TV network, has about 28.7 million, according to researcher SNL Kagan.
It helps that Netflix costs $8 a month, whileHBO costs $15. Meanwhile, Netflix is negotiating with cable companies to try to be made available as a set-top box.
To reach [CEO Reed] Hastings’ goal of becoming a Web-based TV network, Netflix is following HBO’s path. Thirty years ago, HBO aired its first original movie, a 1983 biopic of Canadian amputee and runner Terry Fox. Like HBO, Netflix has used original programming to build customer loyalty and to stand out from competitors such as Amazon.com Inc., the largest Web retailer, Hulu LLC and Redbox Instant by Verizon.
Hastings has called “House of Cards,” which won the Emmy for director David Fincher, “Orange Is the New Black” and other originals integral to his strategy of moving from reruns to a mix of Hollywood movies and new shows. Sony Pictures Television will produce a psychological thriller for Netflix, the company said on Oct. 1.
As technology progresses it seems as though on demand television programming will be the future. Netflix has grown slowly and steadily instead of rushing to the top of movie and television entertainment. With new television series, movies, and other projects time will only tell what Netflix will produce in the future.
