subscribers

Netflix's financial performance was mixed in the period leading up to a controversial decision to raise prices by 60 percent, but investors didn't like the look of the company's future.

The video-rental service reported earnings for the second quarter after the close of trading today and said revenue came in at $789 million, a 52-percent jump from the year-ago period but still shy of the $791 million analysts had expected.

To make matters worse, Netflix said it expected to report earnings for the current quarter between 72 cents and $1.07 cents a share. That is less … Read more

The total number of paid TV subscribers was up last year, but cable companies weren't so lucky.

According to In-Stat, the total number of paid TV subscribers around the world was up over 6 percent compared with 2009. The research firm said that gains in subscribers were seen in "nearly every region" around the globe. However, when it came to cable television subscriptions, only Western Europe saw a jump compared with 2009.

Elsewhere around the world, cable customers were migrating to satellite or IPTV, the research firm said.

Growth in the paid TV business in 2010 has … Read more

Netflix went a long way to answering skeptics today by reporting big jumps in profits and subscriber growth.

The nation's top video rental service reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $47 million or 87 cents per share, on $596 million in revenue. These figures represent a sharp climb from the same period a year ago.

Income for the quarter, which ended December 31, rose 52 percent and revenue grew 34 percent from the year-ago period.

The big news came in the form of subscriber growth. Netflix reported that the total number of Netflix subscribers is 20 million. For the quarter, … Read more

Verizon Wireless added more than 800,000 new subscribers during the fourth quarter as it prepares for the launch of the Verizon iPhone.

The company, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone, today reported that it added 872,000 contract customers during the last quarter of 2010, bringing it to a total of 102.2 million wireless customers at the end of the three-month period. At year-end 2010, 26 percent of Verizon Wireless' retail postpaid customer base--that is, its subscribers--had smartphone devices, up from 15 percent at year-end 2009. In the fourth quarter of 2010, more than 75 … Read more

Sirius XM has hit the 20 million subscriber mark, and it's calling on a member of The Beatles to commemorate it.

Starting tonight at 5 p.m. PT, several Sirius XM channels, including Paul McCartney's Band On the Run Radio, Howard 101, and Classic Vinyl, will air Paul McCartney's concert live from the Apollo Theater. The concert, which was first announced last month, is accessible at no additional charge for current Sirius or XM subscribers.

It has been a good week for Sirius XM. Last Thursday, the company announced that it had re-signed Howard Stern to another … Read more

Cable carrier Cox Communications is branching out with a new wireless service.

The company today launched its Cox Wireless mobile phone and high-speed Internet service with the enticement of what it's calling the "Unbelievably Fair" MoneyBack Minutes program. Mobile subscribers who use the service can get up to $20 per month back on any unused minutes.

Banking on consumer dissatisfaction with existing mobile phone plans, Cox said it's the first wireless carrier to make such a money-back offer. More than that, the addition of the wireless service to Cox's existing package of video, Internet, and … Read more

Time Warner Cable saw bigger profits on increased revenue during the third quarter of 2010 even as it lost TV subscribers.

The second largest cable operator in the U.S. reported a 34 percent jump in profits for the three-month period. Earnings increased to $360 million, or $1 a share, up from $268 million, or 76 cents a share, during the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue increased 5.2 percent to $4.73 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted earnings of 89 cents on $4.72 billion in revenue.

Just like cable giant Comcast, Time Warner Cable … Read more

AOL is having some trouble maintaining its revenues, the company reported today.

During the third quarter, AOL generated $563.5 million in total revenue, a drop of 26 percent from $763.9 million for the same period in 2009. The company's advertising revenue, which was $292.8 million on the quarter just ended, slid by 27 percent from the $402.3 million it generated in 2009. AOL's subscription revenue, which was once the main revenue driver for the company, declined by 26 percent from $332.2 million to $244.8 million because of a 24 percent year-over-year loss … Read more

Prime time is Netflix time, apparently.

Netflix is driving one-fifth of all fixed network downstream traffic at the time of day that the largest number of Americans are on the Web, according to network equipment and software provider Sandvine.

"In the United States, Netflix represents more than 20 percent of downstream traffic during peak times," Sandvine wrote in a statement highlighting its "Fall 2010 Global Internet Phenomena" report. The company said that Netflix's traffic is heaviest (20.61 percent, to be precise) between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time--the venerable prime time … Read more