Final answer:
The estimation of customers leaving Netflix was off because of an influx of similar services like Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Redbox, the latter offering a convenient five-minute drive option preferred by many.
Step-by-step explanation:
The estimation of customer attrition from Netflix was significantly inaccurate because there was a surge in the availability of competitive services offering similar or partially overlapping features. Since Netflix's inception, competitors such as Vudu, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Redbox emerged, providing consumers with more options. Jaime Weinman's report in Maclean's highlighted that the convenience of Redbox kiosks, which are within a five-minute drive for nearly 68 percent of Americans, was still preferred to the process of streaming films online. Even in 2012, this suggests a significant consumer inclination towards physical DVD rentals over digital streaming services.