For Australian free-to-air TV networks doing the maths on their internet streaming businesses, there is a new and terrifying sum to consider.
Netflix, the rival United States giant now operating in Australia, is worth more than 10 times as much as the Seven, Nine and Ten networks combined.
In its quarterly earnings report released on Wednesday (US time), Netflix announced it had added 4.9 million users in three months to reach 62 million worldwide. The company's share price jumped 18 per cent on the news, hitting $US562.
Its market capitalisation of $34 billion means it has outgrown CBS, the highest-rating TV broadcast network in the US, news website Quartz reports.
In contrast to Netflix's heft, Nine is valued at $US1.66 billion, Seven at $US880 million and Ten at $US438 million.
Netflix reported strong global growth, including "a successful March 24 launch in Australia and New Zealand". The company said this was aided by "high consumer awareness, a fervent fan base for original series like House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, and operator relationships with Optus and iiNet".
Netflix is competing in the Australian market with established player Quikflix plus two services run partly by free-to-air networks.
Seven, in a joint venture with Foxtel, launched its service Presto in January. Nine and Fairfax Media, publisher of BusinessDay and The Australian Financial Review, have 50 per cent stakes in another service, Stan, which also opened in January.
Treasurer Joe Hockey and state treasurers agreed last week that the GST should cover online services such as video streaming, a change Mr Hockey described as an "integrity measure" rather than a tax increase.
Netflix charges $8.99 a month for its basic package, 10 per cent less than the $10 Stan, Presto and Quikflix charge.
Credit Suisse predicts 60 per cent of broadband-connected households will subscribe to streaming services by 2023 but it does not see this as a fatal threat to the free-to-air networks.
Analyst Fraser McLeish predicts Netflix will account for 40 per cent market share in the long term, with Stan taking 33 per cent and Presto 27 per cent.
Netflix is set to launch in Japan later this year and the company hopes to operate worldwide by the end of next year, possibly excluding China.
"On China, we're just still learning about how best to approach it; we're not sure," chief executive Reed Hastings said in an interview.
Netflix's price-to-earnings ratio, which has stood at 146 in the past 12 months, is projected to reach 268 in the next 12.