Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Meet one of the Netflix “brains” who figures out what movie you’d want to see (NBCLatino)
Did you ever wonder how Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) figures out which movies you might want to watch next? Since the company was founded in 1997, Netflix has shipped its 4 billionth DVD, and in the first quarter of 2013 alone, it has streamed more than 4 billion hours. The company also says that approximately 75 percent of viewer activity is driven by recommendation. Carlos Gomez-Uribe is one of the 800 Netflix engineers who decides what movie pops up next in your queue. While you’re on your couch at home, he and the rest of the team are in their headquarters in Silicon Valley, California discussing algorithms — statistical formulas which calculate your next probable film selection.
Netflix brings Aziz Ansari stand-up special to streaming markets (RapidTVNews)
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) will premiere a new comedy special, Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive, on 1 November. Filmed live at the Merriam Theatre in Philadelphia, Buried Alive features Parks and Recreation star Ansari focusing his unique viewpoint on pending adulthood, babies, marriage and love in the modern era. The show follows Ansari’s successful live tour of the same name, during which he performed in front of sold out crowds in over 75 cities all over the world at venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Hammersmith Apollo and the Sydney Opera House. It is a follow-up to his previous stand-up performances Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening and Dangerously Delicious, also available on Netflix.
Is Reed Hastings Microsoft’s Next CEO? (DailyFinance)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be searching high and low for a new CEO in the coming weeks and months, but its best choice may have been someone who was sitting in its boardroom until late last year. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is a dark horse candidate. Social wagering bookie Ladbrokes has the odds of Hastings stepping up as the software giant’s next chieftain at 16-to-1. That’s not very assuring, but it’s certainly not a long shot. A lot of savvy financial writers are posing the possibility. TheStreet.com’s Rocco Pendola, tech blog The Verge, and even The Chicago Tribune have tossed out the idea of Hastings at the helm in recent days, and it’s not as outlandish as it may seem. Hastings is on top of the world right now. He succeeded in what Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has failed to do, and that’s turn a company from being disrupted to being the disruptor.
Netflix gives us quality (TimesDaily)
We all knew that online services would eventually start producing their own content. But when political drama “House of Cards” hit Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) this year, it showed they had what it took to make quality programing. In fact, this year Netflix got 14 Emmy nominations on three different programs. “Orange is the New Black” is Netflix’s newest show and their best to date. Jenji Kohan’s comedy-drama follows the life of Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling, who is an upper-middle class yuppie sentenced to 15 months in prison for a crime she committed 10 years ago.
Netflix Insiders Take the Money and Run (DailyFinance)
As Netflix stock has soared in 2013, company insiders have been cashing in on their stock options and heading for the exits at an alarming rate. There are many reasons that a public company’s officers and directors might sell immediately after exercising stock options: They could be looking to supplement their cash earnings. They might need the money to offset tax liabilities. Or they may want to diversify their risks. However, this behavior could also be a sign that insiders think their company’s stock has become overvalued. This year’s flood of insider selling at Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has been extreme enough that it is hard to attribute everything to “benign” motives.
