Netflix is about to surpass HBO’s U.S. subscriber base

With its quarterly earnings report scheduled for later this week, Netflix could finally overtake rival service HBO when it comes to total overall subscribers, according to analyst firm Needham & Co.

The news of Netflix overtaking HBO, however, would hardly come as a surprise. It was speculated that Netflix first surpassed HBO’s total domestic subscribers back in April, with just over 29.1 million paying members to HBO’s estimated 28.7 million. And Netflix’s rapid international expansion over the last two years into Latin America, Ireland, the U.K., and many Scandinavian territories could finally be starting to pay off — but the company is literally years away from beating HBO’s international subscriber totals, according to recent comments from the company.

It’s worth noting that the monthly costs for the two services vary quite a bit. HBO’s packages can cost up to $25 per month (the minimum I’ve seen was $15), while Netflix’s streaming service costs just $8 — a price CEO Reed Hastings said the company plans to keep for the foreseeable future.

Via Bloomberg