Movie streaming service Netflix has reached one million subscribers in the UK and Ireland. The landmark figure took just over seven months to reach, with customers being charged £6 ($10) per month for the streaming-only service, despite competition from the already-established postal and streaming-based rental service LoveFilm.
Although the Amazon-owned LoveFilm is seen as its biggest competitor, Netflix UK chief executive Reed Hastings called BSkyB its main rival. Sky also operates its own streaming service alongside its satellite TV business, although it started its own purely-streaming product called Now TV recently. “With Sky Movies and Sky Atlantic, they’re the ones with big content. LoveFilm has some strengths but [we] are both competing against each other, against BSkyB,” Hastings said. He also admitted that the company needs to strengthen its catalog by more aggressively bidding in upcoming movie rights auctions.
Results for the second quarter in July showed Netflix as returning to profitability, following its attempt at spinning off its DVD rental service. The company lost $89 million on its international operations in the quarter, less than the $103 million lost in the previous period, however still posted an overall profit of $6 million on the strength of its North American operations.
