Netflix announced their quarterly earnings, and more importantly, that they lost another 810,000 subscribers during the last three months, which caused their stocks to drop over 30% in after hours trading. Ouch.
The GOOD news, however, is that Netflix announced expansion into the UK and Ireland. And as much as we love to give crap to our friendly neighborhood red envelope delivery service (no, I really don’t think it’s a sinking ship, but a little hyperbole is always fun), Netflix is still a strong company. It’s still something I will continue to subscribe to, and as I sit here and type this I am watching streaming movies from my instant queue.
But dear Netflix, I have a billion dollar idea for you. Instead of trying to reinvent your business or become Qwikster or something, just try to enhance what you already do well for us. I would pay you an extra $2 a month if you would allow me to set up different “profiles” in my instant queue. Seriously. So one could be for my kids and have parental controls and be full of Hello Kitty and Phineas and Ferb while I fill up my personal queue with the best in Halloween horror flicks and Star Trek.
Second, give us more. We need some more marquee announcements. It was HUGE when you announced you had acquired the rights to CBS’s back catalogue: Star Trek, Cheers, Wings, etc. Then we got AMC– Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and now Walking Dead. Yes, I realize I’m beng an entertainment glutton, but I think the real shot in the arm you need is that big marquee announcement.
If I had money in the stock market, I’d buy Netflix tomorrow morning, as I think it’s now a bargain– and the future is in their streaming product. And I’ve said it before– October is THE best month to try Netflix because of all the horror and genre films. November and December are also great– especially given the amount of time many of us have off from school or work to be able to enjoy the streaming library. The bottom line is, let’s help Netflix out– that free month coupon you’ve been saving? Now’s the time to use it. Get copies of Captain America and Attack the Block sent to you in the mail, and watch some Deep Space Nine on streaming.
Make sure you come back every week for a Netflix pick of the week which we provide you every Friday.