Mediaboss Marketing

Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) seems bent on showing up on your cable bill, and now it's starting to become painfully obvious why the dot-com flick-streamer is talking to cable providers about offering Netflix as a premium add-on service.

In a note to clients yesterday, Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente praises the move by pointing out how it should increase Netflix's subscriber base, lower its subscriber acquisition costs, and deliver long-term profit growth.

Obviously, it remains to be seen what the ultimate product will look like, but Netflix won't be able to charge more than the $7.99 a month it charges existing streaming subscribers. With cable companies historically taking roughly half of the revenue, how can Netflix, making $4 or so a month off each cable customer, be better off than it would be by reaching out directly?

Well, let's drag out the churn card.

As the world churns Netflix is no longer reporting its monthly defection rate, and there's a good reason for that. Streaming customers are a fickle lot. Netflix's churn for members taking out DVDs was never all that impressive, but at least they have unwatched Netflix DVDs around the house. They also have steady and predictable queues -- unlike with the streaming product, where a good chunk of a member's queues can be wiped clean by the end of a licensing deal.

In the last quarter that Netflix reported domestic churn -- last year's second quarter -- churn clocked in at a stubborn 4.2%. That's a monthly rate, implying that Netflix loses roughly half of its subscribers over the course of a year.

Now let's compare Netflix to DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV) . The country's largest satellite television provider reported its latest quarterly financials on Monday. The service provider with 19.4 million stateside subscribers -- and growing -- doesn't have any reason to hide its churn. Just 1.5% of its accounts are canceling every month. Maybe it's the gear. Maybe it's complacency. However, it would also follow that premium movie channels that cable and satellite television customers tack on would also have healthy loyalty rates.

If Netflix is just a small line item on your cable bill, you're less likely to nix the service than you would be if it was a stand-alone offering. And -- to Netflix's credit -- it's just too darn easy to terminate the service.

Apple leads the way One of the interesting developments surrounding yesterday's Apple TV announcement -- yes, it wasn't all iPad for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) yesterday -- was a partnership with Netflix. Apple TV owners can now sign up for Netflix directly through Apple's small set-top home theater gadget.

The new Apple TV will allow couch potatoes to stream Netflix in high-def 1080p, backed by rich Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. However, the interesting twist is that the subscriptions are managed through Apple iTunes.

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The Real Reason Behind Netflix's Cable Push

ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan is advertising for companies to install an Internet filtering system that could block up to 50 million Web addresses, alarming free speech activists who fear current censorship could become much more widespread.

Internet access for Pakistan's some 20 million Web users is less restricted than in many countries in Asia and the Arab world, though some pornographic sites and those seen as insulting to Islam are blocked. Others related to separatist activities or army criticism have also been, or continue to be, censored.

Few nations have so publicly revealed their plans to censor the Web as Pakistan is doing, however. Last month, the government took out newspaper and Web advertisements asking for companies or institutions to develop the national filtering and blocking system.

"They are already blocking a lot of Internet content, and now they are going for a massive system that can only limit and control political discourse," said Shahzad Ahmad, the director of Bytes for All Pakistan, which campaigns for Internet freedom. "The government has nothing to do with what I choose to look at."

The government doesn't currently list the sites it has blocked, or their number, or say who sits on the committee that decides what pages to shut down. Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority instructs the country's 50 Internet Service Providers to block sites. The ISPs, which receive their license from the PTA, are obliged to obey.

In November, the PTA ordered cell phone companies to block text messages containing a list of more than 1,500 English words it said were offensive. But the plan was dropped after public ridicule and complaints from cell phone companies about practicality.

The plan to censor the Internet comes amid unease over a set of proposals by a media regulatory body aimed at bringing the country's freewheeling television media under closer government control. With general elections later this year or earlier next, some critics have speculated the government might be trying to cut down on criticism.

The media proposals call for television stations not to broadcast programs "against the national interest" or those that "undermine its integrity or solidarity as an independent and sovereign country" or "contain aspersions against or ridicule the organs of the State."

Pakistan's Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan denied Wednesday that the government was seeking to curb the media.

"We want to see the media growing. We want to strengthen it," Awan said, emphasizing that the proposals were just that, and the government wouldn't implement them without the media's consent.

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Wanted: Censor for Pakistan's Internet

Germany's Internet community, gathered at the world's biggest high-tech fair, was up in arms Thursday at a draft law forcing Google and other similar sites to pay media firms for content.

"This draft is completely backward," fumed Bernhard Rohleder, director general of Bitkom, the German federation representing high-tech industries.

"We understand that media firms are looking for new ways to make money" when pitted against the Internet and free press, but a new tax "cannot be a substitute for developing genuine strategies for the digital era," he added.

The draft legislation, dubbed the "lex Google" as it targets mainly the Internet giant's "Google News" service, has recently been drawn up by Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition.

Demanded for many years by powerful media groups such as Axel Springer and Bertelsmann, the government will put before parliament a law forcing Google and certain blogs and other sites to remunerate the papers providing the content.

The media groups argue that a user of "Google News" can simply read the short summaries offered on the front page to get his or her fix of the daily news, rather than clicking through to the paper concerned.

The US Internet giant, so the argument goes, therefore benefits via advertising without paying a penny for the actual content.

On the other side of the fence is an unusual coalition bringing together Google and campaigners for Internet freedom, who say the papers receive more clicks from the service and also gain more visibility.

Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, who opened the CeBIT high-tech fair along with the leaders of Germany and Brazil, said the tax "could slow the development of the Internet," according to local news agency DPA.

"It's a bit like the Yellow Pages paying companies for showing consumers their names and addresses," said the blogger Stefan Niggemaier, who believes the tax is akin to a government hand-out to the rich and powerful media lobby.

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German Internet users cry foul over Google news law

WASHINGTON & GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Internet Society today announced that in conjunction with its 20th anniversary celebration, it is establishing an annual Internet Hall of Fame program to honor leaders and luminaries who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the global Internet. Inaugural inductees will be announced at an Awards Gala during the Internet Societys Global INET 2012 conference in Geneva, Switzerland, 22-24 April 2012, http://www.internetsociety.org/globalinet.

There are extraordinary people around the world who have helped to make the Internet a global platform for innovation and communication, spurring economic development and social progress, noted Internet Society CEO Lynn St. Amour. This program will honor individuals who have pushed the boundaries to bring the benefits of a global Internet to life and to make it an essential resource used by billions of people. We look forward to recognizing the achievements of these outstanding leaders.

The Internet Society has convened an Advisory Board to vote on the inductees for the 2012 Internet Hall of Fame inauguration. The Advisory Board is a highly-qualified, diverse, international committee that spans multiple industry segments and backgrounds. This years Advisory Board members include:

We are extremely grateful to our distinguished Advisory Board members who have donated their time, energy, and expertise to this program, St. Amour added. The breadth of their experiences and the diversity of their perspectives are invaluable, and we truly appreciate their participation.

About the Internet Society

The Internet Society is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership from around the world. With its principled vision and substantial technological foundation, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and foundations. Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone.

For more information, see: http://www.internetsociety.org

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Internet Hall of Fame to Recognize Landmark Achievements of Internet Pioneers, Innovators, and Global Leaders

iNet SEO are delighted to announce a ground-breaking service for all recruitment agencies who are looking at both their SEO and Social Media strategies.

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The new product is being launched as RANSaS early in March 2012 and will cover the complete spectrum of services to ensure a successful SEO campaign and social engagement.

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Every campaign is different no two customers are ever going to be the same and will have differing requirements, so we needed a scalable way to bring this to the recruitment market. After initial assessment, you may not need to go social with the requirements you have or perhaps conversion rates are dwindling and you arent sure what to do about it? It could be that you are being beaten on a particular phrase? After all what is the point in paying for services you really dont need?

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Recruitment Agency SEO & Social Media