Rachel_Sandford
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Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix UK, has just announced that the service is now ready for its UK customers! A subscription, which involves unlimited streaming, will cost £5.99 per month. Customers can view their content on consoles, tablets and smartphones, and it can be integrated with social networking sites like Facebook. Netflix has made deals with BBC Worldwide, MGM, and Lionsgate UK. Customers will have access to a host of movies as well as series from BBC.
The coming of the US film streaming service was announced some months ago. The company has been making announcements and giving updates about their service slowly, gearing up for its eventual launch. It is not without its rivals, however. In fact, it is entering a very competitive market. It is going to be going up against LoveFilm, Sky, BT Vision, Virgin Media, Apple iTunes, Sony's Entertainment Network, and Google's movie rental service for Android.
Already, it has started a price war. LoveFilm, which was recently acquired by Amazon, has dominated the film rental market. It started with DVD delivery, something Netflix does not offer, and it moved on to digital delivery. On the day Netflix launched, LoveFilm announced its new streaming package of £4.99 per month (less than Netflix,) and that it is increasing content with new deals.
Despite this, Hastings seems unfazed. “We think about it as trying to get to millions of members over the next few years. We very much think of it as a long-term investment,” he said. “We have more content than LoveFilm.”
However, he did admit that they would still be competing with Sky: “The big competitor in the UK for us is Sky Movies and Sky Atlantic. Lovefilm is mostly DVD by post... and we're both really competing with Sky,” he said, perhaps referring to the fact that Sky has an exclusive deal with HBO and is able to bring in up-do-date and popular American TV shows to the UK.
“Relative to each of our competitors we have different differentiators, but Netflix is a very focused on streaming and we do it really well,” Hastings said.
Although the competition is fierce, some believe that Netflix' arrival in the UK is just one step in a long term plan. The company launched in the US in 2007, and has since acquired 25 million members in the United States alone and been made available in 47 countries. It was the single biggest driver of internet traffic in the US this past year. Some bloggers believe that entering the UK market will give them leverage to expand in the European market, especially in areas that do not have Sky, BT, or Virgin Media. There is a definite demand for their service in Europe, and they may just be the ones to fill that demand.
The coming of the US film streaming service was announced some months ago. The company has been making announcements and giving updates about their service slowly, gearing up for its eventual launch. It is not without its rivals, however. In fact, it is entering a very competitive market. It is going to be going up against LoveFilm, Sky, BT Vision, Virgin Media, Apple iTunes, Sony's Entertainment Network, and Google's movie rental service for Android.
Already, it has started a price war. LoveFilm, which was recently acquired by Amazon, has dominated the film rental market. It started with DVD delivery, something Netflix does not offer, and it moved on to digital delivery. On the day Netflix launched, LoveFilm announced its new streaming package of £4.99 per month (less than Netflix,) and that it is increasing content with new deals.
Despite this, Hastings seems unfazed. “We think about it as trying to get to millions of members over the next few years. We very much think of it as a long-term investment,” he said. “We have more content than LoveFilm.”
However, he did admit that they would still be competing with Sky: “The big competitor in the UK for us is Sky Movies and Sky Atlantic. Lovefilm is mostly DVD by post... and we're both really competing with Sky,” he said, perhaps referring to the fact that Sky has an exclusive deal with HBO and is able to bring in up-do-date and popular American TV shows to the UK.
“Relative to each of our competitors we have different differentiators, but Netflix is a very focused on streaming and we do it really well,” Hastings said.
Although the competition is fierce, some believe that Netflix' arrival in the UK is just one step in a long term plan. The company launched in the US in 2007, and has since acquired 25 million members in the United States alone and been made available in 47 countries. It was the single biggest driver of internet traffic in the US this past year. Some bloggers believe that entering the UK market will give them leverage to expand in the European market, especially in areas that do not have Sky, BT, or Virgin Media. There is a definite demand for their service in Europe, and they may just be the ones to fill that demand.