Disuse = profit?
Y’know what? I dig Netflix, but this article at IMDb’s Studio Briefing had me scratching my head and chuckling in that “that’s amusing and fucked up” kind of way:
Netflix Says Earnings Rose When It Didn’t Rent Movies
Netflix, the online film renter, said Monday that it expects its net earnings for the third quarter to rise substantially above its earlier forecast, largely due to distribution savings as its subscribers rented fewer movies. Netflix attributed the downturn in rentals to subscriber interest in the Olympic Games and predicted they could return to normal in the fourth quarter. Netflix also said that it now has about 2.23 million subscribers, versus 1.29 million a year ago, a 73-percent gain.
This is the same for all service providers. Originally, when Gamefly started (NetFlix for video games), I was probably one of their bigger costs — I was turning through games like mad. However, since Kyle’s been born, I maybe incur shipping costs of one game every 6 weeks, but I’m still paying the same amount. Almost all service providers who charge a flat rate look for customers who sign up but don’t go (like gyms).
i’m one of the reasons netflix makes money. i have had the same three movies sitting on top of my dvd player for over a month now. i know there’s no due date so i keep putting off watching them.