You know when the CEO wants people to just calm down already about his company's soaring stock, we're in a strange new world.
So it was that Netflix announced Q3 numbers this week that exceeded expectations, sending its stock on a roller coaster, as Wall Street first saw only dollar signs, and then looked a little closer at the numbers - millions of new subscribers (more than HBO in the US!) but a whole lot of money spent on content, both original and licensed. CEO Reed Hastings cautioned investors before the dip against getting too carried away. Hastings knows it's a long game. And there's no doubt: the digital entertainment revolution is just beginning.
The players in new media, from devices to Internet streaming services to content creators to the providers who push all those ones and zeroes into our living rooms, are constantly changing, growing and repositioning.
Netflix in particular faces competition not just from Amazon and Hulu, but networks like FX and Turner are turning up the heat now, too.
On the other hand, cable companies, once sworn Netflix enemies, may be coming around, with potential deals that would place Netflix apps on pay-TV set-top boxes, representing a serious thawing in relations.
Speaking of cable, remember how HBO was never ever going to let people subscribe a la carte? Well, surprise.
Meanwhile, as broadcasters chase Aereo (Barry Diller's service that streams local TV network signals, bypassing retransmission fees) around the country, there's news that some cable and satellite-TV operators are starting to think that ditching those fees sounds awfully appealing as well.
So while it's completely fair to say that Netflix changed television as we know it, unfortunately for the streaming pioneer, few industries care less than tech about who got there first. Just ask Betamax. I'm actually writing this on an Amiga right now. Etc.
Hastings and crew are playing it smart, concentrating on growing subscribers and trying to keep Wall Street sane while the revolution plays out. Catch up on the latest in this week's episode of "The Content Brief" from Freshwire below - before the entire landscape changes again.