China search leader Baidu (BIDU) said that its iQiyi video streaming subsidiary has hit 5 million subscribers as of June 15, which it said was a 765% rise from June 15, 2014. Baidu’s announcement about iQiyi’s growth comes the day after rival China e-commerce leader Alibaba (BABA) said it will launch its own online video streaming service in China this summer to head off a challenge from the No. 1 U.S. paid video streaming service, Netflix (NFLX),
Netflix (NFLX) stock fell Monday on news that China Internet giant Alibaba Holdings (BABA) will launch its own online video streaming service in China in August. “Our mission, the mission of all of Alibaba, is to redefine home entertainment,” Alibaba’s head of digital entertainment, Patrick Liu, told reporters in Shanghai, according to a Reuters report on Sunday. “Our goal is to become like HBO in the United States, to become like Netflix in the
Netflix stock leaped to a record high Wednesday on reports of a pending stock split, continued international expansion and more original shows coming to the Internet television service. Netflix stock was up 5%, near 679, in afternoon trading on the stock market today. Earlier, Netflix stock touched a high of 692.79. Netflix stock rose 3.2% on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Netflix shareholders approved a big increase in the number of shares the company is authorized to issue, the first step toward a possible stock split, Reuters reported. The subscription streaming video company won approval to raise its share authorization by nearly 30 times to 5 billion from 170 million, Reuters said. Netflix (NFLX) lately has been focused on building out its global footprint and attracting subscribers with exclusive original content. Last week, Netflix announced plans to enter Italy, Portugal and Spain in October. It also plans to launch in Japan in…