Netflix streaming: Mighty popular, but sadly lacking
Vudu, iTunes, and other streaming providers outscore Netflix in user satisfaction, according to Consumer Reports. But they'd probably love to be even close to Netflix's widespread usage.
Netflix has been no stranger of late to complaints about its services. And now Consumer Reports has released a study that might pile on.
In a recent survey of its subscribers, Consumer Reports found that 81 percent of over 15,000 respondents used Netflix's streaming service in the previous month, making it an exceedingly popular offering. However, in terms of overall satisfaction with the service, the respondents pushed Netflix down to sixth place behind Vudu, iTunes, and several others.
Out of a possible score of 100, Vudu took the top spot in subscriber satisfaction, earning a 76. Apple's iTunes and Amazon's Instant Video offerings took the second and third spots with scores of 75 and 74, respectively. After both Amazon Prime and Hulu tallied scores of 70, Netflix was relegated to sixth place with a score of 69.
The biggest issue for Netflix, according to Consumer Reports, was its selection of titles. Respondents were especially displeased with Netflix's "limited selection of movies, especially the latest releases."
Netflix's movie lineup, or lack thereof, has long been an issue for the company's streaming service. At this point, studios are simply asking too much for their films for Netflix to justify the price. So, the streaming service has relied heavily upon older films and television shows.
Still, Netflix might have been at a bit of a disadvantage in the Consumer Reports study. As noted, 81 percent of respondents report that they've used Netflix. However, Consumer Reports says that the other services have been used by only 2 percent to 14 percent of respondents. If those other services had the same usage, it's possible the study would have turned out differently.
The Consumer Reports study comes just a couple of days after Netflix offered up some mixed news in its second-quarter earnings. The company reported a profit of $6 million on $889 million of revenue. However, the company said that it might not meet its goal of adding 7 million new subscribers in the U.S. this year. Netflix increased its U.S. subscribers by 420,000 last quarter.
One other note from the Consumer Reports study: Netflix took top billing in disc rentals, earning a "Reader score" of 78 out of 100.
