HBO is planning to launch a standalone Web subscription service next year, but Netflix isn’t worried; at least, that’s what the company claimed in a statement nestled within its third-quarter earnings report today.
“Starting back in 2011,” Netflix says, “we started saying that HBO would be our primary long-term competitor, particularly for content.” Netflix called HBO’s expansion “inevitable and sensible,” but says it thinks both services will “prosper as consumers move to Internet TV.”
But shortly after issuing this statement alongside third-quarter earnings, investors sent Netflix tanking over 26 percent in after-hours trading. Netflix added 3 million new subscribers in Q3, up from 50 million in Q2, and 48 million in Q1.
