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9 Things Nobody Knows About Netflix
2 min readApr 10, 2020
- A long time ago, Netflix didn’t even believe in Netflix. Reed Hastings went to Blockbuster executives in 2000 to offer up Netflix in exchange for $50 million. Blockbuster turned them down. Netflix’s value today? $150–200 billion.
- In late 2011, Reed Hastings had the bright idea to split up Netflix’s business into two separate segments; DVD rentals for one and streaming for the other. This plan shocked everyone, and the stock went into free-fall. From $50 a share it bottomed at around $7. He scrapped the idea almost a month after he announced it. These prices are quoted in post-stock split:
- It didn’t look so good then. Looking at it today gives you a different perspective:
- In 2011, Netflix had about 30 million subscribers. Today, they have around 160 million. However, their company’s worth is substantially higher. Why? Original programming, selling consumer data, expansion of Netflix subscribers in other countries. While their subscribers have multiplied by about 5, their valuation since 2011 has multiplied by about 60. Their valuation since IPO has multiplied by about 770.
- Cable television subscribers continue to die as streaming companies…
