BUSM1007 Enterprise Innovation and Markets Report

Topic: Netflix: The Amazon.com of something…DVD’s?

From its humble beginning as a DVD rental business, Netflix has certainly captured the imagination of millions of households around the world. The inspiration for its creation is not exactly clear with many stories circulating about the “Aha! moment” which lead to its formation. CEO Reed Hastings originally said he got the idea for Netflix after having to pay $40 in late fees for returning a movie (Apollo 13) late and realising there had to be a better way. Is this a myth? Many variations and motivations for its creation continue to circulate. Regardless of this, Netflix has had many iterations from its humble and simplistic business model to its current form as a streaming media giant within the “video-on-demand” (VoD) industry. “Netflix was originally a single rental service, but the subscription model was one of a few ideas we had — so there was no Aha! moment,”

Reed Hastings (Co-founder)

Founded by serial entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, Netflix continues to innovate and lead the space which has seen many entrants join the streaming space, including Hulu, Stan, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, Yahoo TV and most recently Disney+. These companies present as rivals seeking to take market share away from the company.

From DVD rentals in 1998 to streaming in 2008 via the web, Netflix has refused to stand still. It’s DVD rental business via the US Postal Service is still going strong with over 3 million DVD subscribers accessing approximately 100, 000 titles. Surprisingly, the streaming service in the USA has only approximately 5,600 titles to choose from in comparison. What is next for Netflix?

ACADEMIC REPORT OVERVIEW:

This is an individual assessment to be submitted via Turnitin through vUWS by Friday of Week 9. A late submission without approval for an extension will be penalised by 10% per calendar day up to 10 days.

For this assessment task, you are required to research and identify the timeline of creative, innovative and entrepreneurial aspects of a global organization. You must present the discussion in line with general University academic requirements. This means that you must include peerreviewed journal references and appropriate Harvard WSU-style referencing, and structure your paper appropriately.

You should be sure to check the following submission requirements and marking criteria guide before submitting the individual assignment. The assignment topic and marking guide can be found on vUWS under the ‘Assessments’ tab.

INSTRUCTIONS:

You are required to research and identify the timeline of creative, innovative and entrepreneurial aspects of Netflix. Discuss how Netflix has remained relevant to its target market of over 207 million subscribers.

TOPIC QUESTIONS

Upon reading the scenario above, research and prepare a written report that addresses the following:

• How does Netflix make money?
• Identify the Netflix business model; from inception to current model (streaming content utilising video streaming technology).
• Where can Netflix take the business into the future? What are the possibilities?
• How can Netflix remain relevant when so much competition provides consumers with choice?

Consider content and programming aspects.

• Critically analyse the marketing strategies and business decisions of Netflix that has allowed them to maintain their market dominance.
• Evaluate the competitive threats to Netflix. Where might its greatest threats come from? (Consider tools such as S.W.O.T and PESTLE analysis etc. throughout this report).

Your report needs to be structured in academic report format, including an title page, contents page, executive summary, introduction and conclusion. The report must also cite a minimum of 5 appropriate academic sources, including 2 academic journal articles.

Please note that the maximum length of the report is 1500 words. This word limit does not include the table of contents, abstract, bibliography and appendices included in your report.

THE REPORT SHOULD BE STRUCTURED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Title Page:
2. Table of Contents:
3. Executive Summary: This is NOT included in the word count. It should provide a brief overview of your major findings presented in this report.
4. Introduction: This section should provide an introduction which states the purpose of the paper and outlines the content and main arguments of the paper.
5. Market structure of the streaming media industry: This section will be a structured paragraph discussion that applies your understanding of the key market features of the video on demand (VoD) industry to the case study. Ensure you briefly profile each of the competitors.
6. Competitive threats to Netflix: In this section, you should analyse and critically evaluate their price and non-price competition strategies. For non-price competition, you should analyse and critically evaluate the marketing strategies and the role of program content, innovation and technology in maintaining their competitive position.
7. Dominance of Netflix: In this section, you should critically comment on the implications of the dominance of Netflix in this industry. Would stronger competition lead to further innovation and benefits to consumers?
8. Conclusion: This section provides a summary of the main arguments and an analytical final comment on the topic.
9. Recommendations: This section should briefly provide suggestions or comments on the competition strategies of Netflix for the future.
10. Reference List: This will be a thorough reference list. Note that ALL ‘in text citations’ must be in the reference list. Also note that anything in the reference list must also be cited in your text.
11. Bibliography
12. Appendices: Include any additional relevant information here.

Please note that the maximum length of the report is 1500 words. This word limit does not include the table of contents, abstract, bibliography and appendices included in your report.