I used to think Mark Cuban was a smart guy. If smarts were judged by the amount of money in one’s bank account, Cuban would be a genius. So I don’t understand how Cuban could think that cable will threaten NetFlix.

The other thing to note is the percentage of Netflix subscribers that already subscribe to a TV provider. Netflix has to be concerned that it will be easier for those people to give up Netflix if their TV provider expands their VOD offerings and allows for queuing of streams to a TV channel than it will to give up the TV provider.

Maybe Cuban is worried because he owns a cable TV station and depends on subscribers. Maybe his billion-dollar bank account has blinded him to the burden that a $100+ monthly cable bill presents to the average American. Cuban’s certainly got to keep his cable television masters happy or face his HDNet channels being dropped. To say that a working-class family would opt to choose an ever-escalating cable bill with horrible service over a $15/month, all you can watch NetFlix streaming account is unlikely to me, but I admit I don’t watch much TV.
Continue reading →