NetFlix Has More Than 3M Subs

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc. NFLX said on Monday it has more than 3 million subscribers to its online DVD rental service, with over 400,000 signing up so far this year and putting it on track to reach its target of 4 million by year-end. Shares of Netflix rose 6.8 percent, or 61 cents, to $9.64 on Nasdaq early Monday afternoon. The Los Gatos, California-based company is in the midst of a marketing drive to protect its dominant market share in the face of competition. Its larger rival Blockbuster Inc. BBI entered the market in August, while Amazon.com Inc. AMZN launched its service in the United Kingdom in December. Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings said late last year the marketing strategy was aimed at countering a potential bid by Amazon in the U.S. market. Netflix, which offered the first online subscriber rental service in 1999, reached one million subscribers in February 2003 and surpassed 2 million in May 2004. Blockbuster reported 750,000 U.S. online subscribers earlier this month. ((Reporting by Gina Keating, editing by Richard Chang; Reuters Messaging: gina.keating.reuters.com@reuters.net; 1 213 380 2014))