Netflix Subscribers Stream 2 Billion Hours of Video in Just 3 Months

Netflix hasn't had the best of years. A stockholder darling for the first half of the year, when its share price rose to record heights, it stumbled in the second half of the year, partially because of the price hike, partially because of its fumbled plans to split up the company.

But Netflix is here to remind us that it's still doing great and has the numbers to prove it, or at least to make it seem plausible.

"We were thrilled to deliver more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies across 45 countries in the fourth quarter," Netflix cofounder and CEO Reed Hastings boasted.

"Netflix delights members by giving them choice, convenience and control over the entertainment they love for an incredibly low price," he said.

The company said its subscribers watched a total of two billion hours of TV shows and movies in the last three months of 2011. That comes down to about 666 million hours each week, or 22 million per day.

All of that comes from 20 million people, it says. The number seems low, but Netflix is only counting streaming subscribers, those that only use its DVD rental service, and there are still several million of those despite Netflix's repeated attempts to sabotage its own business, aren't included.

Another interesting point is that the numbers cover all of Netflix's subscribers from the 45 countries it's now available in. While it only launched in most places a few months ago and presumably hasn't gotten that many subscribers there yet, there is plenty of room to grow.

"In the coming months, Netflix members can enjoy complete seasons of great TV series from all the major networks and most branded cable channels as well as fantastic films like Drive, Hugo, Captain America and Margin Call," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said about new titles coming to the site.