Netflix was the first online video rental service, starting its subscription service in 1999. It's still the biggest in the US. In 2009 it boasted 100,000 DVD titles and had more than 10,000 subscribers. The company offers DVD and Blu-ray rental by mail and video streaming via PC, Mac or TV. This "Watch Instantly" streaming is free with your subscription service. Back in February 2007, Netflix mailed its billionth DVD. It keeps the postal service busy with 1.5 million mailings per day. A few years ago, it was spending $300 million a year on postage. With bulk rates.
Predictably, Netflix started to have competition. Blockbuster started to miss customers like me and came out with Blockbuster Video Online. LOVEFiLM (formerly part of Amazon.com) runs a similar business in the UK, and eHit targets fans of Asian films. Walmart entered the market for a short time but ended their participation in 2005. Now they have a cross-promotional agreement with Netflix.
The technical aspects are described in the video by Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix. He talks to a somewhat strange Wall Street Journal reporter. Before creating Netflix, Hastings started two other tech companies. He sold his company Pure Software in 1997 for $750 million. He's an activist in education and politics and donated $1 million in 2006 to Beacon Education Network to open up charter schools in Santa Cruz, California. In 2009 Hastings donated $251,500 to Budget Reform Now, among other philanthropic activities.
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