CBS Research Chief Calls Netflix A 'Phenomenon,' Says It's Now As Big As A Mid-Size Cable Net

Netflix's online streaming service is rapidly emerging as an important gateway for accessing television programming, according to a tracking study revealed by a top broadcast network executive during the most recent edition of MPG's Collaborative Alliance meeting in New York City.

The executive, CBS research chief Dave Poltrack, used the term "phenomenon" several times to describe the rapid adoption of Netflix, especially among an important segment of the TV audience known as early adopters of next generation media platforms. The research, which was part of a series of focus group studies CBS conducted in its Las Vegas testing facility, Television City, indicates that 43% of the early adopters - what Poltrack terms "fully connected" TV viewers who already subscribe to digital TV and broadband services, now subscribe to Netflix. "Last summer, that number wasn't even large enough to have put it down as one of the choices" CBS asked its focus group respondents, he said, adding, "This is a real phenomenon."