Netflix Delivers a Milestone

Silicon Valley startup ships No. 2 billion

That's a lot of popcorn.

Convenience in home entertainment reached a milestone today as Netflix delivered its 2 billionth movie.

The Los Gatos, Calif. company sent a blu-ray version of "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" to Clay Shannon, a Netflix subscriber in Birmingham, Ala., and said they'll give him a free lifetime subscription to the service.

Netflix has amassed more than 10 million subscribers in it's relativly short history. When they started shipping films from a lone warehouse in San Jose in 1999, they offered just over 2,000 titles. Now subscribers can choose from more than 100,000 DVD titles that can ship from 58 distributions centers throughout the country.

The fast-growing business also offers more than 12,000 choices for instant viewing via download.

The simple, yet innovative idea had a ripple effect on the movie-rental business. Soon after their start, big-name companies like Blockbuster started offering home delivery as well.

Netflix rental number one billion was delivered in 2007.

Convenience is the name of the game these days. Grocery stores joined the delivery market at the beginning of the century after Webvan, another Silicon Valley startup sprouted.  They're gone now but they left behind an idea that has persisted with Safeway.
 
With a movie in your mailbox and munchies delivered to your doorstep, it's no wonder couch surfing is such a popular pastime.

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