Hacking NetFlix

Netflix Streaming is Now 33% of Peak Streaming

Janko Roettgers at NewTeeVee, citing a Sandvine broadband report, reports that Netflix customer use more peak streaming trafic than HBO Go, Amazon and Hulu.

Amazon’s video service on the other hand, which is widely seen as its biggest competitor, only causes 1.75 percent of peak residential downstream traffic. Other competitors fare even worse in Sandvine’s report: The network management company sees Hulu causing 1.38 percent of residential peak downstream traffic, with HBO Go barely registering with 0.52 percent.

I'm wondering what impact a standalone Amazon Prime Video or HBO Go subscription would have on these numbers. 

Standalone HBO Streaming Service "Isn't Ready for Primetime"

FierceCable reports that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes has said that a standalone HBO streaming subscription isn't ready for primetime, but did not give an esimated launch date:

"Given the content we're making at [Warner Bros.], the simple answer is that the concept of a subscription broadband network isn't that ready for primetime," Bewkes said on Time Warner's earnings call Wednesday.

Time Warner already distributes previous seasons of hit HBO series ranging from Boardwalk Empire to The Sopranos through Internet video outlets such as Apple's iTunes Store and Amazon Instant Video. Bewkes suggested that existing Internet video outlets remain the best distribution play for Time Warner's original programming.

I think HBO is still worried enough about upsetting the cable companies to launch a standalone HBO service in the USA, but if more people start cutting the cord it might give HBO the opening they need. When do you think HBO will offer a separate HBO streaming service? 2014 or later? 

Amazon Testing a $7.99 Per Month Prime Subscription

Reader Scott noticed that Amazon is now testing a $7.99 per month Prime subscription (instead of $79 per year), a price that is very familiar to Netflix and Hulu Plus subscribers. I was able to confirm the pricing on the Amazon website and capture a screen shot:

Here's a fullsized screenshot of the webpage (click on the image to view):

It looks like Amazon just got serious about competing in the U.S. with Netflix and Hulu. Amazon Prime at $7.99 per month ($95.88 per year), when combined with the recent movie & TV show deals (Epix, NBC Universal), free 2-day shipping, and a free monthly ebook, is looking like a really good deal. 

HBO Holds Off on Streaming Service Launch in Norway; Netflix Faces Possible Fine in Norway

TechCrunch reports that HBO has delayed plans to launch a stand-alone streaming service in Norway, just after Netflix launched in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. This will be the first battleground for Netflix and HBO, but HBO Nordic CEO Herve Payan announced a delay in the launch:

“The launch of the HBO Nordic network and streaming service is highly anticipated and will be deserving of HBO’s high-quality reputation. We have been in contact with and are listening to our significant local fan base. Slightly pushing back the launch is not tied to one specific reason but simply our desire to meet all expectations. This has been communicated directly to those awaiting HBO Nordic and we have gotten nothing less than an enthusiastic response.”

How much would you pay for a stand-alone streaming service from HBO? When do you think they'll launch in the USA?

Reader John sent in a story from the Views & News in Norway site that says the state may fine Netflix over the terms of use:

The US-based film and TV streaming system Netflix is now available for use in Norway and seems well-received except in one important area: Its rules of use demand Norwegian consumers to give up their consumer rights in Norway, and that’s viewed as illegal.
State regulators called the rules “unreasonable” and threatened it’s likely any attempted enforcement of them by Netflix would be struck down in a Norwegian court. In the meantime, Netflix may get hit with a ban on enforcing their rules of use and a fine “if they don’t change them,” Petter Ravne Bugten of the state consumer ombudsman’s office told newspaper Aftenposten.

Dish Founder Gives Up on Making Blockbuster a "Netflix Killer"

Bloomberg reports that Dish CEO Charlie Ergen is giving up on making Blockbuster a "Netflix Killer."

“You make a lot of mistakes in business,” Ergen, Dish’s founder and chairman, said in an Oct. 3 interview. “I don’t think Blockbuster is going to be a mistake, but it’s unclear if that’s going to be a transformative decision.”

Dish has begun the process of closing stores that no longer make strategic sense, a plan that will allow Dish to turn a profit on the $320 million acquisition, Ergen said. Some Blockbuster DVD-rental stores can still make money in rural regions, he said. About 900 U.S. stores remained as of August, a fraction of the thousands Blockbuster once operated.

This really seems like the end of an era.

via Consumerist.

Redbox Instant Streaming in Beta & Launch By End of 2012

Bloomberg (via Inside Redbox) reports that Redbox will be launching Redbox Instant, a Netflix competitor, by the end of the year.

Coinstar Inc. (CSTR)’s Redbox and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), providing details of their challenge to Netflix Inc. (NFLX), will offer subscription streaming, movie sales and rentals by Christmas, along with DVDs from the local kiosk.

Redbox Instant by Verizon, being tested in the homes of about 500 Verizon employees, initially will focus solely on newer movies that have been available for sale and rental, Eric Bruno, Verizon’s vice president of strategy and planning for consumer and mass business markets, said yesterday in an interview.

It'll be interesting to see the quality and quantity of titles at launch.

Netflix's Sarandos on TV Shows, Competition & The Hunger Games

Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, speaking at the BOA Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference, talked about TV shows vs. movies, the surprising lack of competition, and license windows for content like the Hunger Games.

When asked about the difference between TV shows and movies, Sarandos said, "The great acting and writing is being done on TV." He noted that TV has an "...incredibly high risk model," and that "Some good shows fail because they're in the wrong time slot."

Sarandos said that the most watched episode of Mad men was season 1, episode 1, and that Netflix was still driving new viewers to shows. He also said that 50,000 people watched all episodes of Season 4 of Breaking Bad in 24 hours when they became available the day before the season 5 premier. 

On license windows, Sarandos said that Netflix is the pay TV home for the Hunger Games, but the release windows are: sames day as DVD for latin America, 3 months for Canada, UK 4 months, and the U.S. finally after another 90 days.

On competition: "We never thought that we'd operate without competition. We're surprised it's taken this long."

via Home Media Magazine & Deadline.

Amazon Signs Streaming Deal with Epix as Netflix Exclusive Ends

NewTeevee reports that Amazon has signed a deal with Epix now that Netflix's exclusive streaming deal with Epix has ended.

EPIX, which includes a premium TV channel and video-on-demand service, is a joint venture from Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, and Lionsgate. The agreement includes “new releases such as The Avengers, Iron Man 2, The Hunger Games, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Thor and Rango as well as popular favorites such as Kick Ass, Paranormal Activity 2, True Grit, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Justin Bieber Never Say Never. EPIX also brings original programming including comedy specials and concerts such as Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell and Usher: Live from London.”

Netflix stock took a hit when the news broke, as the news eliminated any doubt that Amazon is a serious streaming competitor for Netflix. I'm still wondering if Amazon will ever break out Prime Instant Video as a monthly subscription instead of a perk for $79 per year Amazon Prime Customers.

Comcast Warning Customers Nearing Monthly Bandwidth Limit

Reader Jonathan watches a lot of Netflix since he cut the cable TV cord, and since he used more than 270gb of data, Comcast notified him that he was nearing the limit of his "monthly data usage allowance." Jonathan wondered how Comcast was able to send this message, and it turns out that they injected the message code into webpages he was viewing.  

The notice reads: "You have reached 90% of your monthly data usage allowance. Please sign in for more information and to remove this alert."

You can use up to 2.3 gigabytes of data per hour if you're watching streaming in HD resolution, according to the Netflix help system.

Has anyone else seen this warning from Comcast?

IrokoTV, The Netflix of Africa, Raises Another $2 Million in Funding

Forbes reports that Nigerian streaming company IrokoTV has raised another $2 million, on top of a recent $8 million round.

Barely 3 months after raising $8million in venture capital from New York private equity and hedge fund Tiger Global Management, Iroko Partners, the world’s largest online distributor of Nigerian movies, has just closed on a $2 million round of funding from Swedish-based Kinnevik, an early investor in group buying site Groupon.

Iroko Partners is the holding company of IrokoTV, a Nigerian movie streaming service which has consistently been dubbed ‘The Netflix of Africa’. IrokoTV is YouTube’s biggest partner in Africa, boasting over 150 million views in 2011. Iroko Partners also enjoys content distribution deals with Dailymotion, iTunes, Amazon and Vimeo. The company was founded by Jason Njoku, one of 10 Young African Millionaires To Watch this year.