Netflix s (NASDAQ: NFLX ) summer (and fall) to forget continues. After the
split of its streaming video service and its DVD-by-mail and a price increase, a
poorly worded apology from CEO Reed Hastings , a rebranding of the DVD-by-mail
service to Qwikster, and a repealing of the rebranding, Netflix couldve used
some good news. It did get a little. The company reported earnings of $1.16 per
share for the third quarter, which beat Wall Streets EPS expectations of 94
cents. Unfortunately, investors were more concerned about Hastings warning after
the bell Monday about the continued bleeding of its DVD-by-mail service, which
prompted a massive after-hours selloff of Netflix stock . While Netflix still
had 23.8 million subscribers as of the end of September, that number is about
800,000 less than it started with at the beginning of June. Worse yet, Netflix
expects fourth-quarter streaming video subscriptions, currently at 21.45
million, to stay about flat at 21.5 or possibly drop as low as 20 million.
Shortly put: Netflix is sinking, and its not just investors headed for the
lifeboats. Netflix has given customers numerous reasons to jump ship, and with a
number of competitors vying for the companys leadership position in home video,
those customers have plenty of places to land. Here are the other home video
companies streaming and DVD alike waiting to grab Netflix defectors faster
than you can say Qwikster. Amazon Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) is a triple threat. Its
got a growing streaming video service through Amazon Prime, which at $79 per
year equates to less than a full year of Netflixs streaming only service. Its
one of the leading DVD and Blu-ray retailers in the U.S., so even if it isnt
renting physical discs, its keeping that industry kicking. Physical disc sales
in turn keep Hollywood studios that still are skittish about streaming
businesses happy and working with Amazon. Finally, Amazon is delivering its own
tablet PC, the Kindle Fire, that is built around delivering streaming video
through Amazon Prime. The only thing holding Amazon back is the accessibility of
Amazon Prime streaming. Unlike Netflix streaming, which is on almost every
device under the sun, Amazon is restricted to web browsers.
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