Do you remember your first experience with Netflix? The ebb and flow of red paper wrapped DVDs and the novelty of saving a queue and getting new film and TV recommendations based on magical algorithms were pure delight – both to adventurous early adopter techies and video buffs alike.
Fast forward a decade and a half or so and Netflix now reportedly uses almost 35% of internet downstream bandwidth, with the average American home using a whopping 20.4G every month for streaming movies and TV from the provider alone. According to a study released earlier this month at CES, 51% of people ages 13 to 34 consider Netflix subscriptions “very valuable” compared to 42% for broadcast channels and 36% for cable subscriptions. But Netflix’s domination of our homes and screens is about more than their vast library and seamlessly simple technology. Behind the entertainment giant looms some deviously savvy marketing minds that pros in the content industry can learn much from.
