How could Netflix affect TV and movie watching in the region?

Netflix comes to the Caribbean

Over the last few months, the Caribbean and Latin America have been eagerly awaiting the launch of Netflix, one of the world’s largest Internet movie and TV series subscription service. The wait is finally over! Netflix launched service in the Caribbean on Monday, 12 September, with an advertised monthly subscription of USD 7.99 to view unlimited movies and TV episodes. Although we as customers might be excited to embrace all that Netflix has to offer, its availability in the region could have far-reaching implications for existing media distribution services.

What is Netflix?

Netflix is subscription-based, on-demand Internet streaming media service, which originated as a flat-rate DVD rental-by-mail service, which still operates today. It has over 25 million subscribers, based primarily in the US and Canada. However, with the launch of service in Latin America and the Caribbean, and its planned expansion into Europe in 2012, the company is poised to significantly increase its consumer base and market share.

Advantages of Netflix

From the outset Netflix appears to offer some clear advantages over conventional media distribution options, such as TV broadcast and cable/subscriber TV.

Price. Most cable/subscriber TV services in the Caribbean offer a basic package, which is priced around the level Netflix has advertised or is more expensive. However, customers must pay extra to access popular or premium (especially movie and sports) channels, which increases the monthly fee. Movies-on-demand is another separate charge that is usually paid per movie selected. Hence Netflix is likely to offer a more cost-effective service, since the price is cheaper than most providers, and includes unlimited viewing of movies and TV episodes.

Content. Potentially, Netflix’s entire library of movies and TV shows, which is rumoured to contain around 20,000 titles, could be available for viewing. Hence customer choice of what to watch may only be limited by whether a particular title is available for streaming. For the conventional cable/broadcast TV subscriber, the viewing choice is limited to content that is being transmitted by the provider. As a result, customers have little choice but to watch (or not to watch) content that is being aired.

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