Netflix Customers Still Fairly Satisfied Despite Problems

By Josh Long Comments
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For those that Netflix has managed to keep since the summer, customers are fairly content with the streaming video service.

More than half are either "extremely satisfied" (18 percent) or "very satisfied" (39 percent) with their Netflix subscription, AllThingsD reported, citing a survey that Citigroup commissioned.

Of course, Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney pointed out that many customers who were displeased with Netflix because of a price hike and other reasons already have parted ways.

And customer satisfaction is down from earlier this year. A similar Citigroup survey in May found that half of Netflix's customers were "extremely satisfied" with their service.

Netflix served 23.79 million U.S. subscribers and 1.48 million international customers at the end of the third quarter. In the U.S., Netflix ended the quarter with 21.4 million streaming subscriptions and 13.9 million DVD subscriptions. In a letter to shareholders on Oct. 24, the company's management acknowledged that Netflix's price changes and now-defunct plans to separate its DVD business from its streaming video service damaged its reputation and hurt the U.S. business.

The question now is whether Netflix can reverse its subscriber losses and the collapse of its once-impressive stock price while building momentum abroad where the company is aggressively expanding. Earlier this week, Netflix announced a new licensing agreement to deliver BBC shows to customers in the U.K. and Ireland where the company is rolling out its streaming video services early next year.

As of 12:46 ET, shares of Netflix were up $3.38, or 4.76 percent, to $74.35 on the NASDAQ.

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