NETFLIX

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1. Netflix Introduction & Overview

Netflix is the worlds leading online streaming subscription service which allows viewers to watch TV and movies online. It has over 23 million members in US, Canada and Latin America, UK and Ireland. Members can view movies and TV over 700 different devices including PCs, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod touch; Android and Windows tablets and phones; and Apple TV and Google TV. Netflix has been available in Ireland since 10/12/2012.

1.1 History
Netflix was established in 1997 to offer online DVD rental by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. In 1999 Netflix launched a subscription service, which gave unlimited rentals for a monthly subscription. In 2002, they launched a personalised film recommendation system that uses Netflix members ratings to accurately predict choices for all Netflix members. Netflix introduced streaming in 2007 in an attempt to distance itself from its slowly dying DVD business. This strategy, if successful, would eventually self-cannibalise Netflixs original business plan. Netflix Partners In 2008 Netflix partnered with consumer electronics companies to release a number of devices which can instantly stream videos directly to members TV. on the Xbox 360, Blu-ray disc players, TV set-top boxes and the Apple Macintosh computer. In 2009 Netflix partners with consumer electronics companies to stream on the PS3, internet-connected TVs and other internet-connected devices. It also has arrangements with majors such as Universal, Sony, Disney and Paramount, but these deals mean subscribers will have to wait until after pay-TV release before their productions become available. Netflix has also struck deals with British broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, that will give access to dramas produced by these operations. They also have agreements with various US television production companies and networks that allow it to offer up to 10,000 different shows to its customers.

1.2 Business Model

Netflix began as a mail-order DVD rental service before moving into streaming content over the internet, split their DVD and streaming subscription model. They retained the name Netflix for their streaming model and renamed their DVD rental service as Qwikster. Netflix believe that internet delivery of content will surpass DVD. Netflix has adapted a data-based business model. The model is built on consumer insight and data is collected from their online activity. By collecting implicit data on users activities while online and explicit data by inviting users to contribute information about themselves i.e. who their friends are, products purchased and content they are interested in, Netflix has been able to deliver a service which is individual to each user by recommending movies that appeal to their taste. From this information they were able form their content, engagement and pricing strategies. There are three primary business models for Internet delivered content: ad supported delivery, such as Hulu.com and YouTube; pay-per-view or transactional, such as Amazon's Video on Demand and Apple iTunes; and, subscription, such as Netflix' service. Netflix states that it is their intent to focus exclusively on the subscription segment of Internet delivered content. .1.3 Competitors Sky Movies and Sky Atlantic have secured agreements for first refusal on the majority of A-List content from Hollywood studios. Sky has the right to screen their productions first. Thus Netflix do not have access to the best movies and are unable to provide best service to their members until these agreements are renegotiated. However, Mr Sarandos, who manages content acquisition for Netflix, says the company has the resources to bid against Sky for the rights on film premieres and the like. Another of NetFlixs main competitors is Amazon. However Amazon gives away the same content that Netflix is charging for, as a loss leader for their other products and services, Netflix future strategy must be to gain exclusive content in order to be competitive. It is a huge problem for NetFlix if they have to compete against a service that is been given away or free. In Ireland Netflix will face a challenge from RTE Player and Channel 4s 4OD who provide on-line viewing of TV programmes as a free service. Apple iTunes also provides movies streaming content, but their content is inclined to be over 18 / R rated films, and of the more violent type, while Netflix has a Lesbian and Gay category, as well as some more risque titles in the foreign films category.

2. Netflix as a Disruptive Technology?

Netflix is considered a disruptive technology as its objective to alter the way people view TV and movies from rental and broadcast TV to streaming content to them to watch instantly. This latest dtechnology should eventually lead to the decline of DVD and video game rental stores.

3. Netflix in Ireland

One critism of Netflix in Ireland is that its content is lacking, but Netflix have responded by saying that quality of content shall improve, as they had same issues in Canada, and this over a short period of time had been resolved. Ireland has comparatively poor broadband compared to many other countries; this will affect picture quality where internet connections are weak. It will also affect the speed of downloading and viewers often experience pauses while watching their movies.

3.1 Netflix Copyright Issues

According to the Irish Times, Netflix could have an issue with copyright because large Hollywood firms like Paramount (NYSE:VIA), Universal (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and 20th Century Fox (NASDAQ:NWSA) "may not necessarily be willing to agree terms with another subscription-based service, as they ideally want a 'per-transaction' model."

3.2 Netflix Marketing Strategy

Netflix is advertising extensively on the web placing static banner ads on reputable sites, permission e-mail, blogs, social networks, classified and RSS. By using social networks users invite each other to become friends and make movie recommendations to each other, see what others have viewed and see ratings awarded by subscribers. This makes Netflix more customer friendly. For the recommendation service, a software agent uses data mining tools to sift through a database of film ratings, customer viewing history, likes and dislikes. This is personalised service uses proprietary formulas similar to that of amazon.com. Netflix created ways to distribute content in the formats its customers wanted: DVDs, computer, tablet, smart phone, TV, etc. Netflix understands that different customers have different needs. By enabling their content to be streamed almost everywhere, customer needs were understood and met. Despite not having the full range of content as previously held their DVD rental business, Netflix released their ideas early with a view to improving over time and promoted it to new and existing customers. Rather than spend time and money trying to assess what customers wanted, Netflix created a need for their service. Give Customers What They Don't Know They Want When Netflix began streaming videos, their DVD-by-mail business was thriving and most customers were happy to wait a day or two to get their next DVD. With streaming content, Netflix reset customer expectations and solved a problem that customers didn't even realize they had. By launching streaming before huge customer demand emerged, Netflix was able to focus on how they wanted to solve the problem versus directly addressing customer complaints. Netflix switch to streaming videos is their strategy for survival because they foresee the mail-order DVD business was in decline. They formed an aggressive marketing plan for their video streaming business, reallocated their video business budget to the video streaming business.

Netflix have also funded the production of a new show called House of Cards, featuring Kevin Spacey. This has taken Netflix from a content distribution company to a business that creates and distributes video content. This has put the company in direct competition with HBO and Showtime. Netflix also uses blog subscribers, social media and emails lists to reach customers. By moving from mail order videos to video streaming, Netflix has had to rebrand its service. This has not been totally successful as by including a price increase, they lost over 1 million customers and half of its market share. Netflix have had to rebrand as they split their brand into two separate brands, with two separate websites, customer bases, and two separate billing avenues for those customers. The brand that was once about affordability, instant access and usability has, in effect, told customers that they must go to two separate websites to do what they were once doing on just one site. They have taken their brand from simple to complicated, the worst rebranding that can be done. They gave each brand a new identity, Qwikster for the mail-order video and kept Netflix for the video streaming. Netflix objective in rebranding was to advance the companies status in real-life streaming. They predicted that less than 10% of its expected 24 million users in the US would subscribe to DVD-only plans. There winding down that part of the business is a smart move. However their approach resulted in making customers unhappy as they made numerous changes without prior warning. Its for that reason that Netflix has lost 53 percent of its market value, turning the rebranding strategy into a PR damage control nightmare. Netflix had to make a public apology for these changes.

4. Netflix technology Review

A key component of their technology is a software recommendation algorithm that tries to maximize the number of movies rented by each customer by suggesting movies they might like, mainly based on their previous ratings and other users ratings. Netflix has been using the Cinematch system, introduced by Netflix in February 2000, to make recommendations. These predictions are, according to Netflix, accurate to within half a star on a five-star viewer rating scale in 75% of the cases, and half of Netflix users who rent suggested movies rate them with the highest rating.

4.1 Streaming Technologies

Netflix streams HD content using Microsoft VC1AP encoding at a maximum bitrate of between 2600 kbit/s and 3800 kbit/s (depending on the movie).] A lower bitrate feed may be supplied if the user's network connection is not capable of handling the maximum bitrate available for the film in question. Netflix recommends that people stream its movies over a broadband connection with a speed of at least 1.5 megabits per second (1.5 Mbit/s), and that people use an Internet connection of at least 3 megabits per second to get better-looking video on

par with a DVD. Netflixs video-on-demand service offers its subscribers the possibility to watch over 12,000 titles online through their Internet connection. It works on a PC/Mac with a browser-based player created by Netflix (written in Microsofts Silverlight), or via a Netflix-ready external player such as a Roku Box, an Xbox 360, the Samsung Blu-ray player, or any other Netflix-enabled device. Both kinds of players (browser-based and external) communicate with a set of Netflix servers that enforce security constraints, provide playback information, and stream the video files to the player. That communication is based on the HTTP and HTTPS protocols, and the message exchange can be observed at different times during playback and be used to make inferences about the kinds of mechanisms that Netflix must have in place in order to provide a secure video experience. 4.1.1 Netflix Historical Streaming Issues/Solutions Streaming Issues Expiration date on some of its streaming content. This may be because studios such as Universal, New Line Cinema etc decide how long NetFlix get to stream their videos. Huge amount of sub-standard movies Netflix streaming too slow to watch Trouble downloading programme to Apple TV

Streaming solutions Make an agreements with major studios to remove expiration date on content Netflix free app is available to allow users to stream and watch videos on their iPad.

4.1.2 Video/Audio Codecs Video is streamed to the user using standard PC hardware, and requires Microsoft's Silverlight software to be installed. Viewing is initiated by pressing a "Play Instantly" button, and played back on the PC monitor. This uses VC1 Advanced Profile encoding with PlayReady DRM. A key property is that each GOP header includes frame size and resolution, this allows Netflix to assemble a stream on the fly from different bitrate encodes as broadband bandwidth fluctuates. (Another key feature is more coverage, including Intel Macs and Firefox users.) The VC1 encoders are more efficient than the WMV3 encoders. Netflix are also re-wrapping the VC1AP encodes in WMDRM10 for CE devices, which will gradually switch to the more efficient encodes in future firmware upgrades. The Silverlight player picks the stream to deliver dynamically. If your connection slows, as the buffer empties, the player starts buffering a lower bitrate stream and

switches seamlessly across. Conversely, if the buffer fills rapidly again, the player can pick a higher bitrate stream. (Note that if Outlook (or some other large application) decides to wake up and refresh your email in the middle of a movie, Silverlight might be starved of CPU and drop some frames; this may cause the player to conclude that it should switch to a lower bitrate stream that won't overload the CPU. Today, Netflix haven't figured a reliable way to determine that the CPU is again underutilized and permit switching back up again, so they advise closing Outlook and similar periodically expensive applications prior to playing the movie!) Netflix have rights to deliver about 400 streams in HD (720p). More titles will be added over time. They experimented with first-generation WMV3 encodes at 4000kbps and 5500kbps, but settled on second-generation HD encodes with VC1AP at 2600kbps and 3800kbps, which extends their accessibility down to lower home broadband connections. As with SD, encodes of film material are at 24fps, and encodes of shot-to-video material are at 30fps (or 25fps for PAL), rather than the 60fps that would come from a Blu-ray disc it is too expensive of bandwidth. These encodes although better than SD, but won't challenge well-executed Blu-ray encodes - which would require a bitrate out of reach for most domestic broadband today. Netflix believe Moore's law will drive home broadband higher and higher enabling full 1080p60 encodes in a few years. Stereo Audio Netflix cannot use WMDRM to deliver AC3 or DD+ audio, which means that only stereo (delivered via WMA) is available. PCs and Macs decode the WMA, and CE players also transcode to PCM for digital connections to receivers.

Subtitles, Closed Captions, and Alternate Soundtracks All these features are desired for future releases. Currently they are delivering closedcaptions via the Silverlight player. Sources Netflix best sources are electronically delivered mezzanine files, or high quality D5 tapes, and the highest bitrate encodes of these sources really look as good or better

than DVDs. Digibeta tape sources can also generate good encodes, but some sources just are not as good, regardless of the bitrate used for encoding. They also encode from DV tape and even on occasion from DVDs. We get HD sources for many titles, even if they only have the rights to stream SD. The HD sources permit a better SD encode than working from SD soures. One class of sources has been derived from 24fps film, interlaced to i60 for TV broadcast, and then decimated to p30, and comes with restrictions on reprocessing. This results in frames that are even-odd interlaces of adjacent film frames, and a 4/5 cadence motion jerkiness. They are actively working to re-acquire these sources in better form. Delivered Quality Netflix first-gen PC streaming player uses 1-4 bars to represent the delivered quality, representing 500, 1000, 1600, and 2200 kbps. The 3400kbps encodes are represented as 4 bars. The player measures bandwidth once at the start of the title, and chooses a bitrate for delivery that has at least 40% headroom from the measured speed. The Roku, LG, and Samsung, players use four dots during buffering in the same way, and Xbox has 4 bars just like the PC player. The TiVo player has a similar display, but with 10 thin bars. The Silverlight player is currently more opaque, since it picks the stream to deliver dynamically. If your connection slows, as the buffer empties, the player starts buffering a lower bitrate stream and switches seamlessly across. Conversely, if the buffer fills rapidly again, the player can pick a higher bitrate stream. (Note that if Outlook (or some other large application) decides to wake up and refresh your email in the middle of a movie, Silverlight might be starved of CPU and drop some frames; this may cause the player to conclude that it should switch to a lower bitrate stream that won't overload the CPU. Netflix have not figured a reliable way to determine that the CPU is again underutilized and permit switching back up again, so advice is to

close Outlook and similar periodically expensive applications prior to playing the movie!)

4.1.3 Hardware Among the 700 devices that support Netflix are the following: Apple Apple TV set-top box, iPad, iPhone, iPod D-Link Boxee Box set-top box Insignia Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems LG Electronics Blu-ray Disc players, TVs (LH50 series LCD and PS80 plasma), and home theater systems Logitech Revue Google TV Buddy Box Microsoft Xbox 360 Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS Panasonic Some Blu-ray Disc players, televisions and home theater systems Philips Some Blu-ray Disc players and TVs Popbox set-top box Roku set-top box Samsung Some Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Players Sharp Some LED/LCD TVs and Blu-ray Disc players Sony Blu-ray Disc and PlayStation Vita players, TVs, Google TV devices, PlayStation 3,

TiVo DVRs (HD, HD XL, Series3, Premiere and Premiere XL boxes) Viewsonic VMP75 Vizio Some Blu-ray Disc players and TVs Western Digital WD Live plus Media Player

4.1.4 Client Side A brief introduction and methodology Netflix works on a PC/Mac with a browser-based player created by Netflix (written in Microsofts Silverlight), or via a Netflix-ready external device. Both kinds of players (browser-based and external) communicate with a set of Netflix servers that enforce security constraints, provide playback information, and stream the video files to the player. That communication is based on the HTTP and HTTPS protocols, and the

message exchange can be observed at different times during playback and be used to make inferences about the kinds of mechanisms that Netflix must have in place in order to provide a secure video experience. Security requirements, control mechanisms, and general architecture
Security Only registered users can access content Users dont share their account information with others Video content cannot be redistributed and played at a later time Those restrictions are enforced by a set of coordinated mechanisms: Request user authentication before playing the video Allow a maximum of six playback devices (browsers, Roku, etc.) per account Reject requests that come from IP addresses outside of the US range Encrypt the video content Provide unique decryption keys per movie and device

The security checks take place over the duration of the playback experience, and are delegated to several different Netflix components and servers, each with distinct responsibilities. The following diagram shows the steps required to play a video on Netflix (slightly out of order, for clarity), the different servers involved in each process, and their respective responsibilities.

Security responsibilities are also distributed on the client side, between the browser (which stores and sends cookies), the Netflix player (which follows the playback and security protocols described above), the Microsoft Silverlight player in which the player is implemented (which prevents cross-site scripting and makes sure that the player only talks to Netflix servers), and a proprietary Microsoft DRM component (which gets an individualized key for each player and coordinates with the License server to acquire keys that are unique to the movie and the player).

Advantages of Netflix Architecture All playback devices are registered and associated with an account therefore allowing Netflix prevent abusive users getting access to others credentials. Two browsers on the same machine/user are one device, but two users on the same machine are considered to be two separate devices. The encryption of video files ensures that only players with knowledge of the key and the decryption algorithm (proprietary Microsoft technology) can view them. If one of those decryption keys is compromised then the security threat is minor, because the keys are individualized and can only be used by one player. As information is shared between the different servers (through cookies and extra headers in the HTTP requests), security on each of these components can be tightened as desired if Netflix detects abuses or security breaches at a particular point. Because all communication takes place using well known HTTP and HTTPS protocols, Netflix has been able to easily provide their video-on-demand service to non-browser devices (such as Roku or Xbox 360) simply by implementing a player on the client side. All these non-browser players communicate with the same servers and follow more or less the same protocol as the browser-based player.

Since all authentication and authorization checks are performed before playback begins, and since the content of files is encrypted, the streaming of the video files can be easily delegated to CDNs, increasing delivery speed without compromising security. Enforcement of security is controlled through Netflixs proprietary player. The enforcement of security, registration, authentication and acquisition of license all happen behind the scenes and all the user has to do is log in to site using account information.

4.2 Netflix Cloud IT Infrastructure

Due to explosive growth in Web site traffic and new customers, and new devices that support Netflix, business was growing dramatically. Netflixs decided to base their IT operations in Amazons Electric Cloud. They felt they could not build data centres fast enough to keep pace with growing demand. Almost 100% of their production systems have been outsourced to Amazon, however they still maintain initial capture of customer credit card data. Master Copies of digital films from movie studios are stored on Amazon S3, and each film is encoded into over 50 different versions based on video resolution, audio quality using machines on the cloud. Netflix has over 1 Petabyte of data stored on Amazon, and the data are sent to content delivery networks (including Akamai, Limelight, and Level 3) that feed the content to local ISPs. Netflix uses a number of pieces of open-source software in its backend, including Java, MySQL, Apache Tomcat, Hive, Chukwa, Cassandra, and Hadoop

4.2.1 Overview of Netflix IT Infrastructure

Netflix has changed from an on-premises data-center environment to a cloud-based setup located in the Amazon Web Services infrastructure. They chose Amazon because they are highly efficient, low cost expert provider in automating data-center operations. Another reason for this decision was that Netflix business was growing rapidly and experienced very uneven demand (highly skewed toward evenings, when its video streaming service represented 29 percent of all Internet traffic). This was caused by its inability to reach data centres fast enough. Amazon were already experts in this field. Rather than a release being a static collection of bits that are moved from one lifecycle stage to another, an application is composed of many, many fine-grained services. Each release may be thought of as a collection of services at a given point in time. This implies that each service must deliver high availability and be failure-resistant. In some sense, the Netflix architecture represents the apotheosis of SOA (Service Orientated Architecture), with all the associated "abilities" that such an architecture carries -- reliability, manageability, etc. For example, given that underlying infrastructure is fragile, the services are implemented with redundancy, failover and automatic restart. Also, applications and automated monitoring constantly check the performance and latency of services. In the case of applications, they are written to call the services asynchronously, so that if one fails, the application does not hang, but moves on with a small piece missing or with slightly stale cached data. The monitoring mechanism constantly watches service performance and, if it observes intolerable variances it

will initiate a set of specific automated steps. If the service performance problem persists, the system will raise alerts to ensure that human attention is directed to the problem. This can be taken even further. Since the underlying infrastructure can be untrustworthy, Netflix spreads its processing across many different Amazon data centers and regions. This makes it more complex and more challenging to operate, but it safeguards Netflix from even large infrastructure outages. (Netflix was notably unaffected by last April's AWS outage, when many "Web 2.0" companies found themselves offline as a result of their decision not to absorb the additional cost and complexity of distributing their applications more widely across Amazon's infrastructure.) Netflix application is composed of many services that are failure-prone, and they deliberately close down portions of your production environment to see if the application is truly robust. Netflix does this with what it calls its "chaos monkey," in which different service environments are randomly taken offline to confirm that the Netflix environment can continue operating in the face of resource failure. Security Chan from Netflix says that risk is the appropriate arbiter of what security practices should be implemented. Netflix goes about implementing security. In light of Cockcroft's presentation, it seems appropriate that Netflix creates services to implement common security measures. Developers can selfservice under this model, which keeps them productive while ensuring that what is implemented meets security requirements. And it should come as no surprise that there is a "security monkey" to validate security practices within Netflix services. Chan went on to note that using a public cloud environment poses challenges to the traditional methods of implementing security, but that overall, Netflix does not feel it has compromised its security by using AWS. The specifics of how Netflix has achieved its security stance are contained in Chan's presentation, and reviewing it is well worth the time. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Netflix is how it approached the overall proposition of using a cloud computing environment. It didn't focus on how to make the cloud support their established application architectures and IT processes. Instead, it evaluated its applications and operations to understand how the new environment would affect the compute infrastructure and redesigned the applications to address that. If your organization is looking to aggressively move into cloud computing and is willing to examine what is required to truly leverage a cloud environment, the Netflix story is a critical example to understand.

4.2.2 Content Delivery Networks

Netflix has agreements with many US television production companies and networks that allow it to offer up to 10,000 different shows to its customers. It has agreements with MGM, Lionsgate, and Momentum. It also has arrangements with majors such as Universal, Sony, Disney and Paramount, but these deals mean subscribers will have to wait until after pay-TV release before their productions become available. However, Sky, one of the big digital TV platforms available in Ireland, has the right to screen their productions first. This delay means a wait of up to 15 months before customers can watch productions.

Chief executive Reed Hastings said the company is in a position to bid against rivals such as Sky for film and TV rights as they become available. On that basis, he said existing deals between producers and distributors who compete with Netflix arrangements may not last forever. Netflix also has recently struck deals with British broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, that will give access to dramas produced by these operations.

4.3 Content Syndication/Delivery

Hastings from Netflix has said that Netflix will have a narrower selection of exclusive and original content compared to the comprehensive selection it had with its DVD service. They had to start out with low-end, nonexclusive content, then, try to bid for more premium content like Mad Men , they have had to compete with other cable networks for exclusive syndication rights, and always will have a broad range of nonexclusive content. Their strategy is to to launch more high profile original programming to build a better percentage of total viewing. This long tail of content is perfect for Netflix; however, they are in danger of fast becoming a commodity business, with serious competition, notably from Hulu and Amazon, and the race is definitely on to create a standout offering that is compelling both from a content and cost perspective. How content shall be delivered shall ultimately depend on what the consumer wants, do they prefer to watch a TV series scheduled over a series of weeks or do they want to binge watch an entire season in the same way they consume DVD box sets.

4.4 Network Effects on Broadband in Ireland

Will Irelands broadband support video streaming as popularity for video, tv programmes and games grow. Many users already experience while watching downloaded content. Increased bandwidth is necessary to allow information to travel back and forth seamlessly. With so many devices and internet ready TVs supporting Netflix streaming bandwidth is likely to get congested at busy times in Ireland. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/life-after-television-2988882.html

5. Future of Netflix in Ireland?

There has been criticism aimed toward the lack of variety and content in the Netflix library offered to Irish members. However, Mr Sarandon assures its Irish members that this shall be only short-lived and that the library should at least double in size as it done in Canada within first year of launch. The arrival of Netflix in Ireland could in fact herald the transformation of how we watch television. Users shall be able to click and watch online, on any device, at a time that suits them. The transformation shall be comparable to moving from a landline to a mobile phone. Reed Hastings predicts, although it wont be the end of broadcast television, it will just mean it will be used less, after all we still use landlines for phone calls.

Many high end TVs come with Wi-Fi ads standard, and within the next decade at least 50% of all TVs sold will be internet ready. Content of programmes on broadcast TV has been evolving, focusing more on reality TV, live events, sports, competition shows, viewers are now happy to watch catch ups for their favourite programmes. Irelands poor broadband infrastructure may prove to impediment to Netflix technology. Will the increase in people streaming TV shows and films mean that ISPs in Ireland will tighten up on bandwidth caps? The Irish government is proposing to bring in new SOPA legislation which shall make downloading online piracy illegal, this shall be good news for Netflix as people will have to use legitimate methods to downloads videos and TV programmes. Netflix will have a chance to expand their customer base. On April 12th, 2012 Netflix released an updated version of an App for Windows Phone. The new version includes several enhancements to improve user experience , they shall expand Windows Phone support to Latin America, the UK and Ireland

6. Conclusion
Undoubtedly one of the main challenges for Netflix is to provide excellent service consistently and to maintain a wide range of material for members which is up to date and relevant to members. Surprisingly, despite having previously launched their service in the US, Canada and UK, Netflix seem to encounter the same problems and do not seem to learn from, or avoid past mistakes. Consumers, I feel are ready to embrace streaming as the new way to watch movies, the convenience of browsing through an on-line catalogue and downloading a movie instantly, far outweighs the inconvenience of visiting a DVD rental store or ordering a DVD on-line. Netflix one to one relationship with its customers has the potential to be hugely successful, because if accuracy in customer preferences is predicted consistently, customers will accept recommendations and remain loyal to Netflix. Netflix pose a threat to broadcast television and DVD rental. The US has already seen decline in these markets (albeit only a meagre 1% reduction in broadcast subscription) and Ireland should follow in its footsteps. Darren McCarra of Irish tech site 'The Sociable' believes movie and video-game rental outlets have been dying-out for some time now. "The arrival of Netflix on our shores will accelerate this process. As the delivery system of media content changes to one of convenience, physical DVD rental stores are becoming increasingly irrelevant. This itself has been aided by both the increase in connected devices, like internet-enabled TVs and tablets, and adequate broadband.