Was it only yesterday when Netflix was a babe in the cradle, with giant Blockbusters and cable operators looming over it? My, Netflix, how you've grown. You've all but defeated Blockbuster and now you're bigger than the country's largest cable TV and satellite radio operators.

The latest Netflix quarterly earnings report shows 23.7 million subscribers. While this is short of estimates, it's still enough to propel Netflix past Comcast, with 22.8 million subscribers, and Sirius XM, with 20.2 million subscribers. This has got to make the cable industry in particular nervous.

Netflix is reaping rewards for doing so many things right. Its timely entry into video streaming has given it a commanding 61 percent share of all movies viewed on the internet. It's gotten its streaming software into 250 DTVs, Blu-ray players, and other devices. And while some hot titles are withheld from Netflix streaming, the company has cut enough deals to make its service attractive, especially at that sweet $7.95 per month all you can eat price. And it is starting to bankroll its original programming of its own.

However, it's unlike that Netflix's cable and other competitors will take all this lying down. Cable and satellite operators are jumping into the market with internet streaming schemes of their own, though not always without controversy.

See The Hollywood Reporter.