Netflix Responds To NBC: 'Our Investors Are Not As Sure Of God's Intentions For TV'

It didn't take very long for Netflix, Inc. NFLX to take a shot right back NBC.

Last week, President of Research and Media Development for Comcast Corporation CMCSA's NBC Universal, Alan Wurtzel said: "The reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated... People are watching TV the way that God intended."

Wurtzel was citing industry data that supposedly revealed Netflix's ratings.

In a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings did not forget the comment.

"The growth of Netflix has created some anxiety among TV networks and calls to be fearful... Our investors are not as sure of God's intentions for TV, and instead think that Internet TV is a fundamentally better entertainment experience that will gain share for many years."

The letter continued, "The challenge for traditional media companies, most of whom see the future pretty clearly, is to use the revenue from Netflix and other SVOD services to fund both great content and their own evolution into Internet TV networks."

"Our titles are watched on the go and at home on a wide range of devices, making measurement of the viewing of any given title difficult for third parties," the letter said. On the topic of ratings, Hastings wrote, "We don't release title‐level ratings as our business model is not dependent on advertising or affiliate fees. Instead, we release "ratings" for Netflix as a whole every quarter with our membership growth report (75 million and counting!). It is member viewing and satisfaction that propels our growth."

For Q4 2015, Netflix reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.07 a share, against $0.02 estimates. The company added 5.6 million subscribers during the quarter, 1.5 million of which came internationally.

Shares traded up 8 percent in the after-hours session to $116.78.