52 cents, $1.11 billion revenue vs. expectations of 49 cents EPS, $1.1 billion revenue

"The company is expected to add roughly 1.1 million U.S. subscribers, and 950,000 overseas. The would boost their total subscriber base to roughly 31 million in the U.S., and 9 million overseas."

The movie-streaming company appears to be gearing up to position itself as yet another "channel" on your cable TV box. Netflix reported it has 30 million paying subscribers, according to Bloomberg, giving it more subscribers than HBO. And it's been added to Virgin Media subscribers' boxes in the U.K.

Q3 was also the first full quarter in which its new series, "Orange is the New Black," became available. That show — about a female prison — was a hit with viewers.

Netflix shares are moving to the top of the queue.

Shares of the company are up about 10% in late trading, to $391, after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat Street views, and importantly reporting that it added more subscribers than expected.

Netflix earned $31.8 million, or 52 cents a share, on revenue of $1.11 billion. Street consensus was for earnings of 48 cents a share on sales of $1.1 billion. A year ago, the company earned 13 cents a share [$7.7 million] on revenue of $905 million.

Even more importantly than the earnings, the company reported subscriber growth numbers ahead of Street views; the critical component for Netflix is to continue adding subscribers, as a payoff for the all the money the company’s spending on marketing, technology, and programming. In the third-quarter, the company added 1.29 million U.S. subscribers, boosting its total to 31.09. Street consensus was that the company would add about 1.1 million subscribers.

International growth was strong as well, with 1.44 million new subscribers overseas; the Street expected roughly 950,000. There are now 9.19 million subscribers overseas.

For the fourth-quarter, the company expects total U.S. streaming subscribers will reach 32.7-33.5 million, with international members at 10.1-10.9 million.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/...criber-growth/

The company touted the success of original programming such as “Orange is the New Black,” stating,
Netflix plans to double its investments in such programming next year, it said:

Carl Icahn cuts Netflix stake, pockets $800 million profit

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has cashed in big on Netflix Inc, taking advantage of a 457 percent gain in its shares since he bought more than 9 percent of the streaming video company only 14 months ago.

Icahn, whose firm acquired Netflix shares for an average price of $58, is booking profits of between $700 million and $800 million on the 3 million shares he sold in the 12 days beginning on October 10 and ending on Tuesday, according to an SEC filing issued after the market closed on Tuesday.

The biggest sales took place on Tuesday with Icahn selling 2.4 million shares at $341.44 for about $819 million. The Tuesday sale alone generated a profit of about $645 million. Icahn still holds 4.5 percent of Netflix, down from 9.4 percent in June -- the last time he publicly disclosed his holdings.

After rising nearly 10 percent at the open following its announcement of stronger-than-expected results late on Monday, Netflix, the year's best performer in the S&P 500 index, suddenly faced a wave of selling. Volume spiked to 27 million shares, several times its normal levels, a sign of hot money leaving the stock.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/carl-i...234320549.html

Currently if you’re watching Netflix via your Roku 3 set-top box, it’s going to look different than your neighbor watching Netflix via a Playstation 3.

That will all change in the next two weeks as Netflix rolls out its new TV interface globally. The move aims to make the user experience for the 37.6 million Netflix subscribers worldwide more streamlined and intuitive.

Design-wise, the look is a bit cleaner. Gone are the poster-style static covers and click-to-reveal information. The top half of TV screens will offer a visual masthead that rotates three screenshots of the show, with a quick plot description; the bottom half features suggestions of other TV shows and movies. Episode guides have evolved to a more complex list with screenshot thumbnails and a short synopsis.

Aside from aesthetics, for those who rely on internal algorithms to assist in deciding what to watch next, the new interface is far more advanced.

"We want discovery to be richer," says Chris Jaffe, vice president of product innovation at Netflix to USA Today. "I knew one of my personal frustrations was I felt like today's Netflix experience didn't give me enough reasons for why I should watch this vs. that."

Mr. Jaffe is referring to the new “evidence” feature that will accompany any title selection. Suggestions will appear below the video synopsis with accompanying explanations as to why a particular show or movie is being suggested. If a friend shared a recent episode of "Portlandia", the person’s recommendation would be the evidence. If "Sons of Anarchy" popped up, it would explain based on your recent viewing of "Hell’s Angels on Wheels". If you pull up a wild card title, the space will feature the awards and recognitions the movie or TV show has earned.

The search function is also refined: show results and creative personnel will share the results page, and Netflix added a predictive search, allowing users to get at search results after just typing in a few characters.

When the rollout is complete, Netflix told the AP, more than 50 percent of Netflix users will view the new interface. However, Apple TV, the upcoming Xbox One, and Wii will keep their specific interfaces for now.

The majority of Netflix’s 5 billion hours of streaming over July, August, and September of this year came from TV streaming, according to the AP. And that likely won't let up: on the heels of successful Netflix-original shows such as "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," Netflix will be releasing its first original documentary next year, plus an original series created by Marvel in 2015.

Netflix Soars 15%: Q4 Rev, EPS Beat, Q1 EPS View Higher as Well

Netflix (NFLX) this afternoon reported Q4 revenue and profit per share that topped analysts’ expectations, and forecast this quarter’s profit higher as well.

Revenue in the three months ended in December rose to $1.18 billion, yielding EPS of 79 cents.

Analysts had been modeling $1.17 billion and 65 cents per share.

For the current quarter, the company sees EPS of 78 cents, above the consensus 76 cents.

Netflix shares are up $49.70, or almost 15%, at $383.43, in late trading.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderd...rrons&ru=yahoo

Netflix to pay Comcast for smoother online video streaming

Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast to ensure the subscription service's movies and TV shows stream seamlessly in a deal that underscores the power of distribution in the digital era — and could mean higher rates for consumers.

The nation's leading online video service and the largest U.S. provider of home Internet access said the agreement is designed to ensure that Netflix subscribers can watch the new season of "House of Cards" and other content free of the pauses and hiccups subscribers have reported in recent months. The agreement may pave the way for similar arrangements between Netflix and other Internet service providers, including Verizon and AT&T.

Consumer advocates and technology policy experts reacted with concern over the ability of giant Internet access providers to extract payment from businesses wishing to reach people in their homes — and the likelihood the extra costs eventually would be passed on to consumers.

But Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter predicted that the cost of Netflix's new deal with Comcast will one day be felt by the streaming service's 33 million U.S. subscribers.

Comcast will "raise the price to whatever the market will bear," Pachter said. "This will ultimately compel Netflix to raise prices to consumers." Netflix declined to respond.

Internet providers and online streaming services have been at odds over who should bear the cost of the surging popularity of online video: companies like Netflix, that reap the benefits, or the broadband services that charge subscribers for access.

The multiyear pact comes less than two weeks after Comcast agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. in a $45.2-billion transaction that would create a broadband behemoth reaching 30 million of the nation's 92 million high-speed Internet customers.

The proposed merger renewed calls for the Federal Communications Commission to draft rules aimed at ensuring that the Internet remains open and free of interference from a rapidly consolidating broadband industry.

A federal appeals court ruled last month that the regulatory agency lacked the authority to bar Internet providers from charging fees to companies like Netflix, to give priority treatment to movies and TV shows that stream across its network.

Comcast has promised to abide by the principle of net neutrality — meaning it would treat all online traffic equally and not give preferential treatment to its own video — as a condition of its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal. This consent degree, which extends through 2017, would apply to Time Warner Cable if the merger is completed, Comcast has said.

The Philadelphia company took pains to note that "Netflix receives no preferential network treatment" under the agreement, a statement designed to underscore Comcast's commitment to an open Internet.

One Internet policy expert called the agreement evidence of Comcast's sheer market clout.

"Netflix didn't have any options," said Marvin Ammori, an Internet policy expert at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet & Society. "And Netflix cried, 'uncle.'"

But by making peace with Netflix, Comcast removes or at least softens the voice of a potential critic of that acquisition, which will be heavily scrutinized by lawmakers and regulators.

"Comcast will likely use the deal with Netflix to argue that there is no need for regulatory intervention if it is capable of reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement with other parties," wrote Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner in a research report.

John Bergmayer, a senior staff attorney for the advocacy group Public Knowledge, said the deal raises concerns about the leverage that large Internet service providers like Comcast wield in discussions with services like Netflix.

Netflix Raises Prices on New Customers as Results Soar

Watching “House of Cards” on Netflix is about to get more expensive.

The company that popularized binge-watching said today it expects to start charging new customers $1 to $2 a month more for its online video service, later this quarter.

Netflix Inc. previously offered unlimited Web viewing for $7.99 a month. The company also reported first-quarter sales, profit and subscriber growth that beat analysts’ forecasts. The shares soared.

The new price will test whether original shows like the political thriller “House of Cards” and exclusive movies can continue to attract new consumers, particularly with soccer’s World Cup starting in mid-June, a distraction that Netflix said will temporarily slow user growth.

The change won’t affect current subscribers “for a generous time period, the Los Gatos, California-based company said, meaning fans of women’s prison series ‘‘Orange is the New Black’’ won’t face higher prices when that show returns June 6. The company predicts ‘‘slight headwinds’’ when FIFA World Cup starts June 12 in Brazil and siphons viewers away.

Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings is acting to address the rising cost of licensing movies and TV programs from Hollywood, whether it’s exclusive films from Walt Disney Co. or original shows like ‘‘House of Cards’’ with Kevin Spacey.

At year end, the company had $7.25 billion in licensing commitments over the next five years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...ults-soar.html

New Netflix members can expect to see their subscription rates go up in the next few months, according to the company’s most recent letter to shareholders (the letter also included Netflix’s first quarter financial results, which beat analyst estimates).

The letter says Netflix’s online selection has “greatly improved … since we introduced our streaming plan in 2010 at $7.99 per month” and as a result, “Our current view is to do a one or two dollar increase, depending on the country, later this quarter for new members only.” Existing members will stay at the current price “for a generous time period” — but, presumably, not forever.

Earlier this year, the company said it was experimenting with different pricing tiers, adding that it hadn’t settled on anything and that there would be “generous grandfathering” for existing members. Today’s shareholder letter doesn’t mention anything about tiers, but the pricing discussion is vague enough that those tiers could still be part of the plan.

“These changes will enable us to acquire more content and deliver an even better streaming experience,” the company says.

Netflix infamously hiked up prices for its combined DVD and streaming video plan back in 2011, leading to its abortive Qwikster initiative. At this point, it seems that Netflix has weathered the transition to streaming video pretty well, although it says it still has 6.7 million DVD subscribers.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/21/net...rice-increase/

A Blow to Netflix: Amazon, HBO Team Up

Netflix Inc. investors are selling now and asking questions later as HBO has agreed to license older episodes of its programming library to Amazon.com Inc.

The deal, which represents the first time HBO has struck a pact with an online video provider, is a coup for Amazon’s Prime streaming service and could represent a blow to Netflix, which earlier this week announced it will raise prices for its new members.

Netflix shares slumped more than 4% to $355.46 on Wednesday. The decline comes one day after the stock rallied 7% following the company’s better-than-expected quarterly report, which contained strong subscriber figures. And all the action this week comes after shares fell 27% over a six-week time frame from early March through mid-April.

The deal means that most past HBO shows such as “The Sopranos,” and “The Wire” will be available online for streaming without a separate fee. Until now, HBO has made its library of shows available for digital purchase, such as through Amazon and Apple Inc.'sAAPL -0.52% iTunes service, and through DVD rental services including Netflix, but not through online streaming services.

HBO’s agreement is exclusive, which means Time Warner's HBO can’t strike a similar deal with a streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu. Terms of the deal, including its length, weren’t disclosed.

“We can’t imagine that Netflix didn’t try to go after this deal, and we believe that this deal signals that HBO won’t be able to provide a standalone (i.e. not tied to a cable operator) online streaming service any time soon,” Neil Doshi, an analyst at CRT Capital, wrote to clients. “But given the generally solid line up of content that Amazon Prime will get, we believe that this could put some pressure on Netflix in the near term.”

The agreement, which goes into effect next month, is significant for Amazon Prime, bolstering its library of past content. Amazon has been seeking to boost its Prime offerings after raising the price in March of the unlimited shipping and streaming video service by $20, or 25%, annually.

“We believe that Netflix has enjoyed an advantage in content selection. Today’s news is a clear sign that Amazon is intent on closing the content gap with Netflix, which validates Netflix’s recent decision to raise prices to fund more content acquisition,” said Stephen Shin, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/...n-hbo-team-up/