Hacking NetFlix

Netflix Annual Shareholder Meeting Webcast

Netflix announced that they will have a live Webcast of their Annual Shareholder Meeting on April 28th, starting at 10am. You can listen to the Webcast at http://ir.netflix.com/.

Should be interesting, especially the Q&A session.

New Releases for April 27, 2004

Here's the list of new releases for this week:

5 Films About Christo & Jeanne-Claude (3-Disc Series) (1973) Christo, Jean-Claude
Adam & Evil (2004) Allison Warnyca, Barbara Kottmeier
Alabama Love Story (2004) Bob Hess, Brett Brock
Alias (2002) Hilde De Baerdemaeker, Geert Hunaerts
Avoid Eye Contact: Vol. 1: NYC Independent Animation (2004) John Dilworth
Best Boy (1979) Philip Wohl, Ira Wohl
Big Fish (2003) Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney
Blood Gnome (2002) Vinnie Bilancio, Melissa Pursley
Book of Love (1990) Chris Young, Keith Coogan
Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 4 (5-Disc Series) (194) Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore
ER: Season 2 (4-Disc Series) (1995) Noah Wiyle, Anthony Edwards
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) Paul Newman , Dwight Schultz
First, Last and Deposit (2000) Sara Wilcox, Jessica White
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) Bill Paxton, Tava Smiley
Green Archer (1940) Victor Jory, Iris Meredith
Jericho Mansions (* April 30th) (2003) James Caan, Genevieve Bujold
Like Father, Like Son (1987) Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron
Love Actually (2003) Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson
Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003) Nick Cannon, Christina Milian
Mad Dogs (2002) Jonathan Pryce, Indira Varma
My Little Eye (2002) Sean CW Johnson, Jennifer Sky
Osama (2003) Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati
Post Concussion (1999) Michael Hohmeyer, Destry Miller
Profiler: Season 3 (6-Disc Series) (1998) Ally Walker, Robert Davi
Radio (2003) Ed Harris, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Saved by the Bell: Season 3 (4-Disc Series) (1991) Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez
Stuck on You (2003) Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear
Taking Sides (2002) Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgard
The Cooler (2003) William H. Macy, Maria Bello
The Householder (1963) Shashi Kapoor, Leela Naidu
The Last King (2004) Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves
The Medicine Show (2001) Jonathan Silverman, Natasha Gregson Wagner
The Montreux Dream (2004) Miles Davis, B.B. King
The Real Deal (2002) Lillo Brancato, Joseph D. Reitman
The Statement (2003) Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton
Thomas & Sarah (4-Disc Series) (1979) John Alderton, Pauline Collins
Tough Luck (2003) Armand Assante, Norman Reedus
Vice Versa (1988) Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage

BusinessWeek on Netflix

BusinessWeek Online does an excellent job covering the challenges that Netflix faces this year (click here to read). The story covers competition, the price increase, movie downloads, customer churn, and more.

From the story:

Netflix will spend more than $121 million in 2004 on refreshing titles and expanding distribution, he predicts, up from $62.7 million spent in 2003. While analysts predict earnings per share of 51 cents in 2004, he sees Netflix finishing the year with 11 cents in earnings.

I hope they buy a few more copies of Lost in Translation with the money (it was released on February 3rd and it still says "Long Wait" in my queue).

Just a reminder that this site is for informational purposes only and I do not own Netflix stock at this time (April 26, 2004).

99 Cent Blockbuster Rental Coupon

Why would I post this on a Netflix-oriented Web site? It's a heck of a deal, and you probably forgot what the inside of a Blockbuster store looked like. I'm considering it because my queue still has Lost in Translation on "Long Wait..."

Just remember that Blockbuster charges late fees.

Click here to get the printable coupon, courtesy the fine folks at DealNews.com. Coupon expires April 30th, 2004.

Interesting NY Times DVD Article

Netflix isn't mentioned, but it puts the importance of the DVD in perspective. You can read the New York Times article here: Studios Rush to Cash In on DVD Boom.

Here's a startling statistic from the story:

Between January and mid-March this year, Americans spent $1.78 billion at the box office. But in the same period they spent $4.8 billion — more than $3 billion more — to buy and rent DVD's and videocassettes.

The story paints a bleak picture for box office profitability (only 6 out of 1,000 movies make money in ticket sales). The DVD release is becoming increasingly crucial to the industry, as Netflix mentioned in their recent Webcast.

New Releases for April 20, 2004

Lots of new movies in a wide variety of categories this week. Enjoy!

3 Women (1977) Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek
A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) Anthony Quinn, James Coburn
A Story of Floating Weeds (1934) Tomio Aoki, Choko Iida
ABCD (2001) Madhur Jaffrey, Faran Tahir
Call Me Madam (1953) Ethel Merman, Donald O'Conner
Casa de los Babys (2003) Daryl Hannah, Lili Taylor
Cracker: Series 3 (3-Disc Series) (1994) Robbie Coltrane, Christopher Eccleston
Crisscross (1992) Goldie Hawn, Arliss Howard
Dianetics: A Visual Guidebook to the Mind (2004)
Fool for Love (1985) Sam Shepard, Kim Basinger
For the Moment (1996) Russell Crowe, Christianne Hirt
Helter Skelter (1976) George DiCenzo, Steve Railsback
He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994) Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau
In My Skin (2002) Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas
Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story (1991) Robert Redford
King of Queens: Season 2 (3-Disc Series) (1998) Kevin James, Leah Remini
Let's Make it Legal (1951) Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey
Mary and Rhoda (2000) Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
Nine Dead Gay Guys (2003) Glen Mulhern, Brendan Mackey
P.D. James: A Mind to Murder (1995) Roy Marsden, Mairead Carty
Pirates of Tortuga (1961) Ken Scott, Leticia Roman
Prime Suspect 4 (2-Disc Series) (1995) Helen Mirren, Tom Bell
Prime Suspect 5 (2-Disc Series) (1996) Helen Mirren, Tom Bell
Star! (1968) Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna
Step Into Liquid (2003) Ken Collins, Alex Knost
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2004)
The Big Empty (2003) Jon Favreau, Joey Lauren Adams
The Flower of Evil (2003) Nathalie Baye, Benoit Magimel
The Haunted Mansion (2003) Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason
The Last of Sheila (1973) Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon
The Lost World: Season 2 (6-Disc Series) (2000) Peter McCauley, Rachel Blakely
The Monster Club (1980) Vincent Price, John Carradine
The Office: Series 2 (2002) Ricky Gervalis, Mackenzie Crook
The Playboys (1992) Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn
The Silver Stallion (1993) Caroline Goodall, Russell Crowe
The Third Wheel (2002) Luke Wilson, Ben Affleck
Tube (2003) Seok-hun Kim, Sang-min Park
We're Not Married (1952) Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen
Wild Things 2 (2004) Susan Ward, Laila Arcieri
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004) Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace

Official Price Change E-mail

I just got the "official notice" from Netflix about the price change:

Dear Mike,

We hope you're enjoying the convenience and selection of Netflix. Our goal has always been to offer a great service at a great price, and we're dedicated to bringing you the largest library of films delivered quickly to your home.

Since launching our service almost four years ago, the subscription rate for the 3-at-a-time program has never changed. We've added more than 20 distribution centers in order to provide one business day delivery to most of our members. We've also expanded our library by thousands of titles and now offer more than 18,000 to choose from. During the four years, improvements such as these, as well as postal rate changes, have increased the cost of doing business.

Beginning June 15, 2004, we will be raising the prices of all our subscription programs. Your plan, the Netflix 3-at-a-time program, will change from $19.95 per month to $21.99 per month.

We believe our service offers an exceptional value and hope you'll continue to enjoy the benefits of Netflix at the new price. We realize that you have many home entertainment choices, and we appreciate your business.

Yours Truly,
The Netflix Team

I'm sticking with them. I just hope the money goes towards more copies of movies and a reasonable profit.

Update: Here's a link to all of the new prices: http://www.netflix.com/FAQ?p_faqid=362&lnkctr=termsofuse

On June 15, 2004, our prices will change to:

Standard - 3 movies out a time for $21.99

Plus - 5 movies out a time for $33.99

Ultimate - 8 movies out at a time for $49.99

Economy - 2 movies out at a time (limit: 4 rentals per month) for $14.99

Netflix Price Increase: How Do You Feel?

Netflix announced that they will be raising the price for the standard Netflix service on June 15th to $21.99 (it's $19.95 now).

They say they will use the increased revenue to "improve the rental experience" (hope they buy a few extra copies of Lost in Translation, I've been waiting since it was released). Netflix is worried that the price increase may slow down growth or increase churn, but it could also increase gross margins and give them the money to purchase more movies.

What do you think?

Q1 2004 Financials: $100 Million & Lots More

Just got the Q1 2004 financial press release from Netflix. Woah!

The important stuff:

$100.4 million in revenue (up 80%).

Churn down to 4.7% (from 5.8%).

Price increase on June 15th to $21.99 (!).

Customer aquisition cost of $35.12 (up slightly due to modest tv ads).

Gross Margin of 43.6% (down slightly).

International expansion (!).

There is also guidance for the rest of 2004. Definitely worth a read.

Netflix Investor Webcast Today at 5pm (EST)

Netflix sent out a press release reminding us that their 1st Quarter 2004 Investor Webcast is today (April 15, 2004) at 5pm EST. You can listen in here, but if you miss it they usually have an archive here.

These have always been interesting, and if you're as addicted to Netflix as me, it will be worth your time.