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An article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30932399 on the BBC website, regarding apps not being available for Blackberry phones has the following

As an example, he said, this "discrimination" meant Blackberry users did not have a version of Apple's iMessage or Netflix's streaming service available to them.

How to pronounce Netflix's? I've tried it with an extended "s" sound, or even as Net-flick-ses, neither of which sound right.

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    When you make plural or possessive a word that ends in the /s/ sound, the written letter 's' (in the plural/possessive) is most often pronounced with a /z/ sound, as in the words misses, hexes, fixes, and gases. So you'd pronounce it net-flicks-ez (rough IPA: nɛtflɪksɪz, -ɛz, -ɨz).
    – Justin Greer
    Jan 22, 2015 at 15:56
  • The word Netflix is already essentially plural (net flicks), so you can pronounce it the same way you pronounce any plural possessive; in exactly the same way as you pronounce the simple plural: nɛtflɪks. (For the same reason you say "Brooks Brothers" and "Red Sox" and not "Brooks Brotherses" and "Red Soxes" when you pronounce the possessive of Brooks Brothers and Red Sox.)
    – Peter Shor
    Jan 22, 2015 at 16:08
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    It's a trademark. Regular spelling rules do not apply to trademarks; the trademark owner owns the variants, like plural and possessive, as well, and they decide how they're to be spelled and punctuated.
    – John Lawler
    Jan 22, 2015 at 16:22
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    @JohnLawler: but they do not decide how they are pronounced. (Many trademark owners are unhappy with this, but there is ample case law on the point, besides the obvious impossibility of enforcement.)
    – Tim Lymington
    Jan 22, 2015 at 18:37
  • Well, in that case, you can pronounce it any way you like. Feel free to use other suffixes if you prefer.
    – John Lawler
    Jan 22, 2015 at 18:43

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The media treats Netflix as a singular noun. Netflix's rhymes (if you will) with "net fixes". Fox's sounds just like foxes, box's like boxes.

Kleenex, and other brand names have the sound -es added when the possessive is used:

  • From the creators of Damages comes Netflix's latest original series, Bloodline... (Netflixes)

  • Does Kleenex's stock skyrocket after an Oprah interview... (Kleenexes)

I'm sorry, I'm not good with IPA. I believe it would be /ɪz/.

Edited to add: (HT @JanusBahsJacquet): The choices are [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksɨz] (most common) and [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksəz] or [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksɪz].

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    Most commonly [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksɨz], though some would have [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksəz] or indeed even [ˈnεtˌfɫɪksɪz].
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Jan 22, 2015 at 17:08
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I recall my "grammar" teachers back in the 1950s and 1960s USA grade-schools suggesting that the possessive of "Netflix" might be Netflix' with the "s" presumed but not written or pronounced. Same as with "Jesus' disciples." But, for single syllable words/names like Gus, you would write and pronounce the "'s" as "Gus's store." Grammar, as a discipline, is always at the mercy of a language's etymology.

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  • How did your teachers back in the 50s and 60s know about Netflix? They must be remarkably prescient.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Jun 6, 2018 at 15:07

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