Hbo, Netflix | featured news

Consumers who dream of watching HBO hits like "The Sopranos" or "Game of Thrones" by streaming to TVs using their Netflix accounts shouldn't hold their breath.

Netflix on Monday officially declared its future is the Internet, saying the DVD market has “peaked.” But experts wonder if the online streaming giant — now with 25 million subscribers in the second quarter — and other Web firms face a looming threat to their businesses. They aren’t talking about competitors such as Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon Prime — the threats outlined by Netflix said in its earnings report. Experts are pointing to broadband data caps.

Netflix has evolved as a service that has been more or less complementary to traditional pay-TV business, flourishing in monetizing older content and offering it at minimal prices to customers. While there was skepticism around the model, it has proven immensely successful (at least until now) and has led to rapid subscriber gains. However, Netflix is now stepping on pay-TVs toes and a larger battle appears to be brewing as Netflix has successfully acquired its first original TV series, House of Cards, by outbidding HBO.