It doesn't seem that long ago where Netflix (NFLX) was considered an "upstart" in the DVD viewing space. Now that they've been around for about 7 1/2 years, they have reached their first huge milestone by renting their 1 billionth DVD. As one report said, "about seven months less than it took McDonald's Corp. to sell 1 billion hamburgers after opening its first restaurant in April 1955."
The 1 billionth customer is from Helotes, Texas, and will receive a lifetime subscription to the service as a reward. The DVD rented was Oscar-nominated "Babel," which is up for best picture this year.
Speaking of the Oscars, they do play a big role in Netflix's success, as winners have performed strongly for them. Last years' best picture winner "Crash," is the most requested DVD from the Netflix library, which includes over 70,000 titles. Another past winner, "Million Dollar Baby," ranks No. 5 on the DVD renters most requested list.
What's most important about the billionth visitor is that Netflix can now market that it is far past the "fad" stage and becoming a ubiquitous company among the American population. It was created close to the time of the dotcom bust.
It also continues to grow strongly in new customers as last year they added another 2.1 million to their increasing base. Customers can pay from $4.99 a month to $47.99 to request what they want online and then have it delivered through the mail.
To appreciate the increasing growth, consider that it was only in May of 2003 that the company delivered its 100 millionth DVD, and had 1.1 million online subscibers. They figure by the end of 2007, they'll have over 8 million subscribers.
Company leaders estimate that they will add between 1.7 and 2.1 million additional customers this year. They have a goal of growing to 20 million subscribers by 2012.
While they believe it will take years to be concerned about the movie video download business, they are already beginning to take steps to include that as part of their service.
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