Netflix Inc expects to lead the market for movies delivered over the Web despite growing competition from Web giants like Apple and Amazon, Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday.One major reason, he said, is that watching movies over the Internet is not yet easy, so Netflix can keep customers happy with the simple DVDs-by-mail technology while Web delivery improves.
"Download services right now have limited value. As long as it's a marginal product because of limited content or because you're limited to PC to watch it, it's difficult for stand-alone services to compete with Netflix," he said.
In addition to its core mail-order DVD business, Netflix, with 7.5 million subscribers, lets subscribers watch movies via the Web on PCs and also plans to roll out a set-top box with LG Electronics Inc this year to let subscribers watch films streamed from the Web to TVs.
