Talk about a back fire. Only one month into the company split of Netflix (into Netflix – Streaming and Qwikster – DVD’s), the once skyrocketing video entertainment powerhouse has lost over 1 million subscribers. Also, they have employed a more than backwards business strategy. Netflix CEO is effectively eliminating his core business prospects from the funnel, making it more difficult to convert new users. If Netflix remained as just Netflix, cross selling opportunities or possibily upselling opportunities would have remained from DVD to Streaming. Now, a user of Netflix DVD is automatically enrolled in Qwikster DVD, not only losing brand loyalists, but also making it more complex to be signed up for both services. Two companies. Two contracts. Too many issues. Without the brand Netflix for the DVD business, there is an increased concerned that users will become brand agnostic and switch to a different provider.

Check out the articles here

We can never overestimate the American public’s quest for video content.

Nielsen has released top line viewer usage comparison of the two major online video services Hulu and Netflix. This information is based on more than 12,000 online interviews conducted in March 2011.

It is obvious from the charts below that these two services satisfy very different purposes for the consumer.

• Hulu is the source for watching tv shows while Netflix is the source for movies

• The majority of Netflix users report watching on a TV screen and over half connect via a game console
• On the other hand, those who use Hulu as a source watch directly from their computers

We do not believe the recently announced new pricing structures will negatively impact these technologies as these costs will be off-set by the increasing availability of programming.

We see both of these technologies as adding to the viewing experience of consumers, and the near-future expansion of HBO Go to gaming consoles will only further enhance that experience. Additionally, these services represent advertising opportunities, whether directly with the service or through the devices used to access the programming.

It is interesting to note that since the recent announcement that Hulu is up for sale, it has attracted the interest of major players like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo. The real issue for Hulu is obtaining the necessary content to attract consumers.  In today’s marketplace, content providers are looking to find as many ways as possible to monetize and gain full value for their content — if not through Hulu, then by developing their own sites where they can control the advertising content.

To counter this both Hulu and Netflix have announced forays into the development of original long-form programming. On August 17^th, Hulu will offer A Day in the Life, a 6-episode half hour documentary series. Netflix has exclusive rights to the 26-episode series House of Cards in late 2012.

While it doesn’t seem likely, a Netflix purchase of Hulu would be beneficial to advertisers and consumers alike: Hulu would vastly improve its movie repertoire while Netflix could show recent television episodes and maybe even a few commercials.

Hmmm, Netflu could be the new epidemic for cable and alternate delivery systems to battle.

-Michele Buslik and Melissa Crosby

A new 3D technology called Unlimited Detail showcases how their technology will greatly improve in all genre of 3D. Using point cloud data, it can improve the amount of details by 100,000 times than the current standard. Point cloud data give artists unlimited freedom on how much details they can put into their 3D models. This technology eliminates the limitation on polygon count given to the artists and eliminates the need to create multiple detail levels of the same model. This will be the next break through in 3D technology. Check out the video.

In today’s marketing landscape, creating a branded website is an essential part of the promotional mix.  What’s more, brands today are tasked with an added challenge — Not only is an engaging website necessary, but as Facebook Fan pages become increasingly popular, an equally interactive Facebook page takes priority.  See more here.

This is especially relevant in the entertainment category, for which new movies and TV shows premiere regularly.  Warner Bros. created both an impressive website and Facebook fan page for their recently released movie, Yogi Bear.

Nonetheless, the idea of creating an online destination for a brand/movie is not one born of the 21^st Century.  Movie studios have been leveraging the Internet as a marketing tool for years.

Click here to see the promotional site for the 1996 classic basketball-alien comedy, Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny.