Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is making headlines again. Monday, he blogged that Netlix was abandoning the Qwikster DVD spinoff company before it started.
Netflix buzz
Netflix buzz spiked Monday to a level almost as high as September 19, thanks to Hastings’ blog post that day explaining price increases and announcing Qwikster.
Netflix sentiment
Conversations around Netflix are currently 64% negative, even more negative now than following the September 19 disaster. Qwikster currently appears in 18% of all Netflix conversations and is 90% negative.
Blockbuster took to Twitter to capitalize on Netflix’s recent stumbles. After raising prices on DVD rentals, Netflix announced on September 19 it was renaming its DVD rental service Qwikster. The decision by Netflix to raise prices on its DVD and video streaming rental packages gave rival Blockbuster a rare opportunity to strike back via social media. Blockbuster used Twitter to promote a 30-day free trial geared at Netflix customers, promoting it on its Twitter feed.
Blockbuster repurposed its entire marketing staff, showing unusual nimbleness, moving staffers who once concentrated on Web or print campaigns to the front lines of Blockbuster’s social media campaign. Dish Network, which bought Blockbuster in April after Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed 1,500 stores, unveiled a new Blockbuster-branded video stream and DVD rental service.
Then Blockbuster sponsored the word “Qwikster” on Twitter. When users searched Twitter for Qwikster, Blockbuster messaging would be the first to pop up in the search category. Blockbuster also started a Twitter contest, promising a free year of service for the four best Netflix breakup stories. The team has also used the hashtag #helloBlockbuster to engage with customers, answer questions and promote offers.
Was Blockbuster’s social media push successful? We used Social Radar to find out.
Blockbuster vs. Netflix buzz
Netflix chatter spiked dramatically on September 19 following the Qwikster debacle. Buzz around Netflix has since subsided, while Blockbuster has increased and is currently nearly even with Netflix.
Blockbuster sentiment
Conversations around Blockbuster have been an overage of 66% positive over the last month. The term Netflix appears in 19% of all Blockbuster conversations.
Netflix sentiment
Netflix conversations were only 55% positive. Qwikster appeared in 11% of all Netflix chatter over the last month. Blockbuster only appeared in 6% of Netflix conversations. CEO Reed Hastings appeared in 9% of all Netflix conversation, primarily due to the email apology he sent in mid September regarding the price increases.
Blockbuster is well positioned to capitalize on Netflix’s missteps. Will Netflix recover?
Netflix Inc.’s move to separate its movie-streaming business and its DVD-by-mail service failed to soothe many customers’ anger over the company’s recent price increase. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced the split in a blog post Sunday night, saying the move was the impetus for a recent price increase that outraged customers and sent the company’s stock price plummeting. He apologized for not having given the explanation sooner.
Some are already saying Netflix is doomed. The future lies in streaming, which make Netflix’s core strengths — the DVD library and its logistics — irrelevant. And it’s competing against massive companies, including Apple and Amazon.
We used Social Radar to analyze conversations online.
Netflix sentiment trend
Negative chatter, which was already steadily increasing since July thanks to Netflix previous price adjustments, has now surpassed positive chatter for the first time.
Netflix conversation topic cloud
Qwikster, the new name of a spin-off company Netflix created to handle all its DVD-by-mail service, is currently being mentioned in 36% of all Netflix conversations, and is 81% negative.
The move highlights the challenges facing even successful companies as they navigate the transition from old media to new media. Will you continue to use Netflix and/or Quikster?
Netflix announced new pricing today that separates streaming and DVD plans; selecting both options results in a 60% price increase. For all new customers, the streaming service is selected by default.
Netflix buzz
As NFLX stock prices approaches $300/share, Netflix buzz is at its highest point of the year.
Netflix sentiment
Conversations around Netflix are currently 63% positive, below its six month average of 68% positive. Streaming has been the biggest topic of conversations within Netflix chatter online, appearing in 36% of all Netflix posts.
How do you feel about Netflix attempt to eliminate DVDs?
Nintendo this weekend launched its new Nintendo 3DS, which lets users play 3D games without wearing special glasses. It also takes 3D photos, and this summer will play 3D movies streamed from Netflix on its 3.5 inch screen.
Nintendo 3DS vs. PlayStation 3 vs. XBox 360
Nintendo 3DS chatter spiked above industry leading gaming platforms XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 following its launch.
Nintendo 3DS sentiment
Conversations around Nintendo 3DS are currently 80% positive.
Nintendo 3DS conversation topics
3D is appearing in 38% of conversations and is 90% positive.
Top Influencers
Engadget is currently the most influential content publisher around Nintendo 3DS.
Content distribution
Microblogs are currently generating the most conversations around Nintendo 3DS.
Boxee announced Tuesday that it raised $16.5 million and plans to add more movies, TV shows, and video services. We measured chatter online comparing Boxee, Roku, Google TV and Apple TV.
Boxee vs. Roku vs. Google TV vs. Apple TV buzz trend
Boxee chatter surged past Google TV and Apple TV today, but is still well below Netflix service Roku.
Boxee vs. Roku vs. Google TV vs. Apple TV sentiment Feb. 2011
Over the last month, conversations around Apple TV were 82% positive, Boxee conversations were 75% positive, Google TV 73% and Roku 69% positive.
Boxee sentiment March 1
Following the Boxee announcement, conversations around Boxee were 96% positive on Tuesday.
Netflix has made clear that the future is streaming, and the company expects its DVD-by-mail business to peak in 2013, at which point its Watch Instantly streaming service will be driving its growth. Netflix posted on their blog Monday that they would be removing the “Add to DVD Queue” option from streaming devices, causing some fans to get angry.
We used Social Radar to run analysis around Netflix conversations before and after Monday’s announcement.
Netflix conversation topics 1/1 – 1/16
Netflix sentiment 1/1 – 1/16
From January 1-16, all major topics of conversation were positive (green) and overall discussions around Netflix were 72% positive.
Netflix conversation topics 1/17 – 1/19
Netflix sentiment 1/17-1/19
In the past few days following the announcement, we see a lot more negativity (red) in the topic cloud, with conversations around the removal of the “Add to DVD Queue” being negative. Overall conversations around Netflix within the past few days have dropped to 68% negative.
Will Netflix customers fully embrace the company’s future vision and abandon their beloved DVDs?
Google officially introduced Google TV to the public on October 4, and Sony unveiled its newest line of Internet-enabled TVs complete with Google TV software this week. Google TV joins Apple TV, Boxee Box and Roku in the set top box market attempting to change the way consumers watch TV. Check out a list comparing available apps for all four services.
We used Social Radar to run analysis on Google TV, Apple TV, Boxee Box and Roku. Despite the announcement and the buzz, Google TV chatter pales in comparison to Roku chatter.
Google TV has been generating the most buzz among these new Web TV solutions, far above Apple TV. Though Apple is seemingly no longer making Apple TV their “hobby”, they have certainly failed to dominate the buzz in this market as they tend to do with all of their other products.
Though all solutions have very positive conversation, Apple TV has also received the lowest of the four.
We also broke down the distribution of chatter among hot conversation topics around Web TV solutions.
You can see among movies and TV shows conversation, Apple TV dominates the conversation. Google TV is more commonly discussed around conversations about music, Netflix and videos. Another surprise is that Roku, though created by Netflix, receives less conversation market share among Netflix conversations than Apple TV or Google TV. However, Roku does dominate the market share among Hulu references.
Though it’s still quite early to see if there’s a clear winner in this new race, the common variable is that these solutions are all well received. As they become more common in the home, we’ll keep an eye on how the conversation changes.
Discussing buzz around hot topics. This week we cover Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO and his $100M donation, Blockbuster’s bankruptcy, and the new Fall TV season.
