Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America's Eyeballs
Oct 2012 · Sold by Penguin
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About this ebook
Netflix has come a long way since 1997, when two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Marc RanÂdolph and Reed Hastings, decided to start an online DVD store before most people owned a DVD player. They were surprised and elated when launch-day traffic in April 1998 crashed their server and resulted in 150 sales. Today, Netflix has more than 25 million subscribers and annual revenues above $3 billion. Yet long- term success-or even survival-is still far from guaranteed. Journalist Gina Keating recounts the absorbing, fast-paced drama of the company's turbulent rise to the top and its attempt to invent two new kinds of business. First it engaged in a grueling war against video-store behemoth Blockbuster, transforming movie rental forever. Then it jumped into an even bigger battle for online video streaming against Google, Hulu, Amazon, and the big cable companies. Netflix ushered in such innovations as DVD rental by mail, a patented online queue of upcomÂing rentals, and a recommendation algorithm called Cinematch that proved crucial in its struggle against bigger rivals. Yet for all its success, Netflix is still a polarizÂing company. Hastings is often heralded as a visionary-he was named Business Person of the Year in 2010 by Fortune-even as he has been called the nation's worst CEO. Netflix also faces disgruntled customers after price increases and other stumbles that could tarnish the brand forever. The quest to become the world's portal for preÂmium video on demand will determine nothing less than the future of entertainment and the Internet. Drawing on extensive new interviews and her years covering Netflix as a financial and entertainment reporter, Keating makes this tale as absorbing as it is important.
Netflix has come a long way since 1997, when two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Marc RanÂdolph and Reed Hastings, decided to start an online DVD store before most people owned a DVD player. They were surprised and elated when launch-day traffic in April 1998 crashed their server and resulted in 15...
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Ratings and reviews
65 reviews
Rafaela Hinojosa
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December 26, 2015
Why do people want to read this...watch Netflix for 5 hours straight it feels way better than reading.
15 people found this review helpful
B Bear
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December 26, 2014
Pointless
6 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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December 16, 2018
Expensive
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Gina Keating covered media companies, law and government as a staff writer for Reuters and United Press International for more than a decade. Her articles have been reprinted in newspapers around the world and her freelance work has appeared in Variety, Texas Monthly, Food and Wine, Southern Living and Forbes magazines.
Gina Keating covered media companies, law and government as a staff writer for Reuters and United Press International for more than a decade. Her articles have been reprinted in newspapers around the world and her freelance work has appeared in Variety, Texas Monthly, Food and Wine, Southern Livi...
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