But step back for a moment and consider the evolution of Netflix since it was founded all of 14 years ago, and a different lesson emerges: Competition works - maybe sometimes a little too well.
Netflix's business has shifted dramatically since it began streaming in 2007. Last year, it said, it passed a major milestone "with the majority of our subscribers viewing more of their TV shows and movies via online streaming than by DVD."
But what happened en route? Netflix was a video-store killer.
In my Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood, Netflix plainly helped put the last nail in the coffin for TLA Video in 2009. This year, the neighborhood Blockbuster finally bit the dust - a few months after that once-leading video chain filed for bankruptcy.
Of course, Netflix was hardly all to blame. In the fast-shifting worlds of technology and media, nothing is simple, and Netflix surely didn't succeed just because customers preferred home delivery. Many found the delayed gratification of video by mail to be a major drawback.
What made Netflix so successful in the DVD realm was its efficiency. It managed amazingly quick turnarounds using the much-maligned Postal Service. Its pricing beat the competition even for those who watched just a handful of DVDs per month. And its subscription model helped quash one of the most annoying features of the video-store business: late fees.
Before it finally stumbled, my neighborhood video emporium valiantly fought back.
TLA cut its rental prices and lengthened its terms. It even copied the all-you-can-watch model. At its remaining stores, in Center City and Bryn Mawr, TLA customers can subscribe to unlimited DVDs just as with Netflix: two at a time, as many as they want, for $20 a month - a service Netflix now offers for $12 a month.
