• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, June 6, 2012

Subscriptions trump transactions when it comes to online movies.

The online movie business in the United States more than doubled in 2011, hitting $992 million in revenue -- and should double again this year, according to a report from IHS iSuppli. The business is being driven by money from transaction rental and subscription video-on-demand, which loosely translates into iTunes and Netflix, respectively.

But Netflix is bigger. The research firm said Netflix comprised 45% of online movie revenue in 2011, up from a mere 1% the year before. Meanwhile, Apple’s share dropped to 32.3% from its 60.8% haul.

Don’t cry for Apple, though. Although its share fell, the company still increased its transactional video revenue by 75% to $273 million in 2011, IHS said. What’s more, the Netflix service is used primarily for library content, with Apple still dominating in the new releases department. (Which, in my humble opinion, is because Netflix has next to nothing worth watching in the new release department.)

In related news, comedian Mark Malkoff showed it's possible to watch 252 movies on Netflix streaming in just one month.