Netflix Shares Jump 11% on Growing Internet Usage Statistics

Netflix has finally got something to gloat about. Its streaming video service has shown that more than 20 million subscribers around the globe watched over 2 billion hours of old TV shows and movies on High Speed Internet devices during the final quarter of the year.

From ridicule to riches, Netflix saw a single day increase of over 11% on its battered stock. This is the highest price the stock has seen in over 7 weeks. Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the $306 per share price the company could boast in July, but it is definately improving and giving investors some confidence in the company.

Rumor around the financial world is this new data suggests that Netflix is ripe for a takeover. Yahoo, who just installed a new CEO yesterday is said to have some interest. Amazon also has been trying to get some skin in the streaming video game for a while.

As expected, Netflix says it is not interested in a takeover and wishes to maintain its independence.

Netflix met with a series of PR disasters this year when it raised prices on it services by over 60%. It also tried to separate its streaming video service and mail DVD service into two separate entities. User backlash was so strong that the company cancelled all those plans and issued an apology.

There was also concerns that because streaming video eats up so much bandwidth, it would force users over their caps, and give people reasons to stop streaming. These Q4 numbers seem to completely buck that theory.

Netflix has a goal of phasing out its DVD rental service as it becomes less and less likely that people will use the service. The company has not released its DVD subscriber numbers yet, but it is widely expected that the numbers will be way down, making this year the first year Netflix has lost money in more than a decade.

Would you rathe ruse streaming video or old fashioned DVD’s from Netflix?