NETFLIX
NETFLIX
NETFLIX
Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Contents
Executive Summary .............................................. 2
Recommendations: ........................................ 3
Legal: .................................................................... 8
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Executive Summary
This report was commissioned to examine the current state of Netflix and make recommendations
for areas of improvement to enhance Netflix sales, contain costs, or refocus Netflix present
strategy. The information in the Industry Analysis (page 4) draws attention to the growing video on
demand market and Netflix place in the market.
Strategic Issues:
Netflix is facing a number of strategic issues, which can be found in depth on page 4. The most
pressing issues are summarized below:
Options:
Offer reduced prices for long-term commitments:
As a way to reduce the churn rate, Netflix would offer a reduced price equal to Amazon Prime ($79
per year) paid annually and automatically renewed each year. A long-term commitment that is
automatically renewed may increase customer retention. The discount for a long-term commitment
would also provide a competitive advantage in that Netflix would be a lower cost per year than
Hulu Plus.
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Recommendations:
In order to continue to have strong profit margins and be market leader in the domestic market
Netflix should:
Offer reduced price for long-term commitments and allow a contract priced option to
preserve members prices
In order to preserve market share and customer retention, Netflix should offer a one-year
subscription price. This will provide guaranteed revenues per year and protect Netflix from the
substitution effect. In order to build back customer trust after the attempted spin off of Netflix DVD
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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division, Netflix should also consider allowing customers to lock in their rate for a period of 3 years
if they are a yearly membership subscriber. By allowing customers to lock in their price, Netflix will
begin to rebuild damaged relationships with it’s customer base and also decrease the churn rate
because subscribers would be less likely to cancel if they knew they would be saving money by
continuing to subscribe to lock in their price .
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Industry Analysis:
Industry growth potential
The video on demand industry has a high potential of growth in the coming years. As an emerging
industry, The NPD Group believes that the market will continue to grow because of the belief that
internet-streamed rentals have a better value and better selection than traditional movie rental
methods. As internet-streaming only accounts for one out of six video on demand rentals, the
industry is poised to continue expansive growth as more consumers begin to be attracted by the
value-proposition of streamed rentals and the wider product breadth offered through Internet
streaming video on demand.
Businesses within the industry have the potential to grow through the acquisition of exclusive
content, building partnerships with complimentary companies to bundle TV Subscription and
internet-streaming video on demand, and expanding technology to make the interface easier to
use for older generations.
Both Hulu Plus and Netflix offer some high-definition programming at $7.99 per month, however
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Netflix and Amazon both offer the same amount of content to subscribers, however the majority of
Amazon Prime’s content is only accessed through paying a fee per title in addition to the yearly
subscription price. The billing and price of Netflix and Amazon Prime differ, Netflix is a monthly fee
of $7.99 and Amazon Prime is yearly fee of $79. Amazon Prime differentiates itself from Netflix on
the other product offerings including: free two day shipping on all amazon orders, one Kindle e-
book per month. Despite the increased product offerings, Amazon Prime only has around 15% of
total number of subscribers of Netflix. (Chart 1)
We also make the assumption from the case that Netflix is the only internet-streaming video on
demand service abroad. Having a profitable business segment in Canada, Netflix has the distinct
advantage of being the first internet-streaming video on demand service abroad and finding a
successful strategy demonstrated by the expansion in Canada. It should be noted that despite the
success in Canada, Netflix is currently not profitable in other countries where they have attempted
expansion.
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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Market Size:
Annual Sales Revenue: $1.1 Billion
Total Volume: 40 Million Consumers
Scope of Competitive Rivalry:
The geographic area over which most companies compete in the video-streaming segment is global, only
limited by internet connection. However for physical movie rental, geographic area is regional, limited by
movie delivery times through traditional mail services. Having a presence In foreign markets has not
previously proven to be instrumental to success of either video streaming or physical movie rental.
However, in this emerging industry it may become increasingly important and reduce overall costs.
Market Growth Rate:
The market growth rate in the industry is expected to increase in 2012 to 3.4 Billion movies viewed via a
video on demand service.
Degree of Product Differentiation:
Video on Demand providers are not highly differentiated by the movie titles offered due to movie studio
bargaining power to avoid giving exclusive rights to just one company in order to fully realize the revenues
of each film.
Number of Companies in the Industry:
Physical DVD Rental: 3: Blockbuster, Redbox, Netflix
Subscription Based Video on Demand: 3: Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime
Number of Buyers:
In 2011, there were 40 million users of video on demand services. There are 134 million potential users with
access to the technology in place to enjoy video on demand services.
Product Innovation:
Product innovation exists through the continued experimenting of the timing of movie releases by movie
studios. Opportunities exist to overtake rival firms by cultivating relationships with movie studios to allow the
video on demand provider to be the first to offer streaming content of movies.
Product innovation also occurs in the form of content provided for various age groups, including expanding
the products offered for children.
Supply and Demand Conditions:
Due to the nature of the video on demand product, significant issues with supply shortages do not exist as
the product offered, videos on demand, can be viewed by multiple viewers at the same time. There are
multiple firms offering video on demand services, some as complementary products for already subscribing
members, others charging a fee per movie or a flat subscription fee.
Technology and Innovation:
Technology is key to success in the video on demand industry, all services require significant technological
infrastructure in place for users to stream videos on their own devices. Advancing technology through the
creation of easy to navigate interface, algorithms to accurately recommend movies, and increased
compatibility of devices all are keys to allowing a video on demand service. Technological advances are
driven by research and development, with multiple firms heavily investing in technology and product
innovation in order to secure and retain a spot as an industry leader with a large market share.
Scale Economies:
The video on demand industry is characterized by economies of scale in purchasing, advertising and
building technological systems. The fixed costs can be spread out over multiple users to lower the
percentage of revenues reduced by the fixed overhead costs.
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PESTEL Analysis:
Political:
Changes in movie regulations that limit content shared online
Economic:
Currency fluctuations that would impact profit
Changes in credit card processing fees that would impact profit
Changes in disposable income of consumers that would impact revenue
Social:
Change in the knowledge and usage of technology by different age demographics that
would change number of subscriptions
Change in the time spent watching videos that would change the number of subscribers
or value placed on the internet-streaming video on demand
Change in the consumer assigned value of videos reducing the number of consumers
interested in watching videos
Technological:
New technologies emerging that limit certain video on demand services ability to be
watched on devices
New technologies emerging that make video on demand segment obsolete
Internet Infrastructure changes or throttling that slow down or speed up certain firms
content delivery to consumers
Environmental:
-
Legal:
Movie licensing changes that would change the availability of content
Expanded legal liability for contributions to pirated movies that would change the ability to
access content for subscribers and affect the number of subscriptions
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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Driving Forces:
Changes in the Long-Term Industry Growth Rate:
The NPD estimated that share of video on demand rentals is expected to increase 3.4 billion views
in 2012. The market share is continued to increase past 2012 due to customer perceived value of
Internet streaming and customers perceive video on demand providers to have a better selection
of movie titles than traditional movie delivery services.
Increasing Globalization:
Netflix has begun an aggressive campaign to promote customer understanding and awareness of
streaming in untouched markets to gain market share. This campaign to increase understanding of
video streaming may open the markets to companies and decrease the entry barriers to enter
global markets for other firms in the industry.
Every major network broadcaster, multichannel TV provider, and premium movie channel have
been investing in Internet apps for all types of Internet connected devices to position to be able to
offer TV everywhere packages.
Marketing Innovation:
Both video on demand services and movie studios are working together to experiment with
shortened release periods to discover revenues allowing movies to be shown on video demand
services before they had previously been released for at home viewing.
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2. Manufacturing Related:
Ability to achieve economies of scale
High utilization of content library
3. Marketing Related
Wide breadth of movie selection
Well known brand name
5. Other:
Low costs that are able to meet customers expectations for value
Strong balance sheet and access to financial capital to acquire content
Convenience in ability to access ISVDO on multiple devices
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High
Value Hulu
Netflix
Amazon Prime
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Financial Analysis:
Financial Analysis of Netflix
2000 2005 2007 2009 2010 2011
Revenue: 35.90 682.20 1,205.30 1,670.30 2,162.60 3,205.60
Profitability Ratios: 2000 2005 2007 2009 2010 2011
Gross Profit Margin: 0.02 0.32 0.35 0.35 0.37 0.36
Operating Profit Margin: -0.65 0.29 0.41 0.76 0.76 0.75
Net Profit Margin: -1.63 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.07 0.07
Total Returns on Assets -1.11 0.13 0.13 0.17 0.15 0.07
Net Returns on Total Assets -1.11 0.12 0.10 0.17 0.16 0.07
Return on Stockholders Equity: 0.80 0.19 0.16 0.58 0.55 0.35
The gross profit margin is an indication of a Netflix financial health computed by using the formula above.
The gross profit margin is an indication of the amount of money Netflix will have to pay for additional
expenses and savings after accounting for the cost of goods sold. Netflix gross profit margin has decreased
by 2.345% from 2010 to 2011, and signals that the firm has a decreased profit margin despite the increase
in revenues.
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
The operating profit margin signals how much of Netflix revenue is left after paying for variable costs of
production, such as technology and development, general expenses, marketing costs, among others. Netflix
should have an operating profit margin of at-least the industry average, which is not provided in the case.
Since we do not have the information about the industry average operating profit margin, we can look at the
trends within Netflix to see that between 2010 and 2011, the operating profit margin decreased by -.6%.
While this is not a major change, the operating profit margin should be continually monitored to ensure that
Netflix continues to make a profit in the years ahead.
The net profit margin indicates how much of each dollar earned by a company is transformed into profits. An
increase in the net profit margin will indicate that a company’s financial health is improving. In the period of
2005 to 2010, Netflix net profit margin was volatile. Of most pressing concern is the 5% decline from 2010
to 2011, which indicates that Netflix was earning 5% less on every dollar earned.
Total returns on assets are a ratio that is used to measure how a company is using its earnings, or the
earnings for each dollar of the assets of company.
The capital annual growth rate is way to look at growth of a company but instead of growth per year the
capital annual growth rate averages the growth over a number of years to find the rate of return if it had
been a steady investment. Netflix higher annual capital growth rate over 11 years compared to it’s capital
annual growth rate over two years demonstrates that the majority of the growth of the company was fueled
in the first few years.
Current Ratio:
= Current Assets/Current Liabilities
The current ratio indicates the ability for a company to pay off its debts. A current ratio over one indicates a
company is able to take care of its obligations. Netflix current ratio of 1.49 indicates that they are capable of
paying of their debts for the current year and is sufficiently investing excess assets.
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The total debt to total assets ratio when compared overtime shows if a companies financial risk profile is
becoming more or less risky. The gradual increase in the total debt to total asset ratio has shown that Netflix
is taking on more debt and becoming financially riskier.
Debt to Equity:
=Total Liabilities/Stock Holder Equity
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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SWOT ANALYSIS:
Strengths: Weaknesses:
•Largest market share in the internet-streaming •High churn rate
VOD segment •Unprofitable markets abroad in Latin America
•Proprietary technology to improve user and the United Kingdom
experience •Leadership lacks appropriate communication
•Over 80% utilization of content library with consumers
•Economies of Scale
Oportunities: Threats:
•Expanded partnerships to gain exclusive •Rival firms developing similiar technology
movie rights •Loss of partnerships
•Expanded partnerships for bundling of •Decreasing bargaining power with suppliers
products •Piracy
•First mover advantage in International markets •Market trend in increased usage of Video on
Demand with a decrease in purchased Video
on Demand (video on demand being bundled
for free by TV networks to perserve market
share)
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Netflix current strategy is not currently effective in helping Netflix reach it’s long-term goals. The following
key indicators discussed below influence the conclusion of Netflix’s current strategy’s lack of effectiveness.
Netflix marketing strategy is based off acquiring customers at a higher rate than the number of canceled
subscribers. This strategy does not seem to be effective as shown by the large number of cancelations from
July 2011- December 2011 that led to a net loss of subscriptions.
18000
16000
(in the 1000s)
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Jan -
July-Dec
2000 2005 2007 2009 2010 June
2011
2011
Additional Subscriptions 515 3729 5340 9322 15648 11614 9930
Canceled Subscriptions 330 2160 4177 6444 8415 6521 10129
Graph 1: This shows the trend of subscription additions and cancelations between 2000-2011
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
GBA 490
Another contributing factor the decrease in financial strength is the rising costs to show streaming
content. There is little bargaining power with suppliers because there are few suppliers, movie
studios and those who provide licensing for movies, and the content if critical to Netflix operation.
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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Netflix Case Study Katherine McLarney
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