It seems like more and more people have it everyday. Some even watch it more than "regular" TV. There are shows that are only available on there. Full seasons of shows are there 24/7. It has led to people using phrases like "binge watching" and "Netflix and chill". Other services are racing to conquer the market that it's already established. It's even considered by some to be the world's largest internet television network. The question is:
How did Netflix become so popular?
Netflix was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Rudolph in 1997. To be honest, that was a lot earlier than I expected. While I was researching this I assumed that it was going to be somewhere between 2005 and 2010. Anyway, the company's original purpose was to offer a place for customers to rent movies online. For a while it was just an online DVD subscription service, but it eventually grew to over 4.2 million members in 2005. Streaming introduced in 2007 where a customer could watch TV shows and movies on their computer. Eventually, the company expands into other countries like Canada and Spain. They create Netflix original shows like "Orange is The new Black" and even released their first original movie "Beasts of no Nation." This all happened over the course of 19 years.
Now, can looking at Netflix's history tell us why it's so popular? Yes. Let me break it down for you. Go back to the late 1990s when the company was founded. Netflix was a site that offered a more convenient way to rent movies. Of course that meant going up against companies like Blockbuster (founded in 1985). What made Netflix different was that they offered recommendations based on what the user purchased. They also created a subscription system instead of just having people pay for each DVD. These factors caused them to move ahead.
Fast forward to the year 2005. There are now millions of Netflix members, but of course with companies like Redbox coming on the scene, Netflix needed to step up its game. In 2007, the ability to stream movies and TV shows from your computer was introduced. Convenience is what helped the company stay on top. The fact that you didn't have to wait to watch a movie because of a delivery system. You didn't have to send the movie back. You didn't even have to end get off your high horse. It was all there on your computer.
From 2007 you see Netflix successfully expand into other countries and create original shows. There is obviously plenty of competition still out there (Hulu, Amazon etc), but what really drew me into Netflix was the fact that they let you try it out for free for a whole month.
That was great.
From this point on I can only see Netflix growing. I mean it has been around for 19 years already, what's stopping it from being around another 19 years?
