Netflix had to lower its expectations of how many subscribers it would have by the end of the third quarter yesterday, putting that number at 24 million instead of the 25 million they thought they'd have back in July. The cost to shareholders so far has been some $6 billion, following Netflix's controversial move to raise subscription prices as much as 60% effective September 1.

This is being called a "worst-case scenario" for the company and the press has gone wild with the news. The Wall Street Journal notes that Hollywood should feel vindicated, and that the company's stock price has dropped 40% since July.

But Netflix remains a big power player in the streaming game, with a stock price almost four times that of Time Warner, which owns HBO and has recently gotten into the streaming game themselves. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings signed a letter to shareholders regarding the bad news saying, "We remain convinced that the splitting of our services was the right long-term strategic choice." Also, it remains full-steam ahead, as far as we know, on that new campus Netflix is building in Los Gatos.

[AP/Tribune]
[Biz Times]
[WSJ]