AOL vs. Netflix: The Entire Internet In One Simple Chart

At the end of March, almost 2.7 million people still subscribed to AOL service, the company reported this morning. That’s about where Netflix stood at the end of 2004.

Since then, Netflix’s subscriber base has grown — 29 million at the end of March — and AOL’s has declined at a remarkably parallel rate.

Almost perfect. AOL vs. Netflix, 2002-2012.

Netflix vs. AOL: A decade of moving in opposite directions

From Q3 2001 to Q3 2011:

• Netflix subscribers grew to 24 million from 300,000
• The average monthly Netflix bill fell to $11.56 from around $20
• Subscriber acquisition cost fell to $15 from $32 (with a peak around $47)

But Netflix only lost customers in a quarter twice. Once was in 2007 when Blockbuster was a fierce competitor. And the most recent was this past quarter, when Qwikster bit them in the ass.

Netflix’s plan to kill the DVD is working

SplatF Employee of the Month: Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix

Most leaders are too stubborn or scared to make drastic changes in order to prepare for the future. And then they get destroyed. But Hastings is the opposite: He just hacked off a dying limb, Netflix’s DVD business, to focus on streaming video — the only possible successful future for Netflix. The company certainly could have handled it differently, but the ballsy move still stands. Good call, Reed — you’re our employee of the month.