Netflix now has a dominant share of the online video on demand business, according to new NPD data. The subscription streaming service has 61 percent of all the movies downloaded or streamed in January and February. Comcast’s Xfinity service was at eight percent, even as a cable only firm. Apple was at just four percent and tied with both DirecTV and Time Warner Cable.
Analysts at NPD believed the gap came from not just prices but the experience. Apple and Xfinity stores have a much wider selection of up to date titles, but Netflix’s service costs as little as $8 per month, making it a much better value for those who don’t mind the selection. It also had a better “overall shopping experience,” respondents said. Although not mentioned, Netflix’s ubiquity and queuing might have helped, since it can be found on many TVs and Blu-ray players as well as all major game consoles, the iPad, and the iPhone.
