Unlimited Free Broadband Downloads!!

January 16, 2008 · Filed Under Brand, Branding, Business, Business Model, Innovation

That sounds a lot better than “Up to 17 hours of broadband downloads per month!” And when you can do it for the same price, you’ve entered The Long Tail. That’s what Netflix has discovered.

With Monday’s change, virtually all Netflix subscribers will be able to stream as many movies and TV shows as they want from a library containing more than 6,000 titles. There will be no additional charge for the unlimited access…The unlimited streaming option figures to become more enticing later this year when LG Electronics Inc. will begin selling a set-top box that will deliver the content to TVs.

This should remind you of my last article on the Long Tail. Although they haven’t started giving things away for free yet, the essence is there: Netflix going from 17 hours of movies to unlimited movies is the same as Yahoo moving from 2 GB storage to unlimited online storage. Something that was previously considered scarce is now essentially free.

This would be even better if people routinely viewed downloaded content on their TVs. I can, but I don’t because my PC isn’t a complete home theatre solution - I can’t view HD cable broadcasts. But with Netflix I could easily connect my computer’s HDMI output to my HDTV and view standard definition digital movies like eating at buffet. And when LG introduces that settop box, you won’t even need the PC.

Think of how many films you rent at Blockbuster and see in the theatre a month - is $17 a month much to pay for unlimited access to over 6000 film titles? What an innovative business model!