High-flying Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) is coming under increasing fire both externally--Time Warner's Jeff Bewkes said media companies would put the squeeze on the video purveyor and the Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA)-Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) traffic peering spat links directly back to Netflix traffic--and internally where CFO Barry McCarthy has announced he's retiring.
The resignation "comes at an inopportune time for the movie rental company," CNET's Greg Sandoval wrote. "In a year that has seen Netflix record a big increase in subscribers, generate scores of positive headlines, and strike two large deals to license content from Hollywood studios, the company is again generating buzz in the entertainment sector, but now it appears to be mostly negative."
On another front, PaidContent.org is hailing Vutopia, the VoD subscription brainchild of IN Demand, which, in turn, links back to Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI), Comcast and Bright House Networks. "Vutopia is another subscription service that, with the totality of what cable provides, is the competitive response to Netflix and other products as well," In Demand president Bob Benya said.
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