Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

media.netflix.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

391–400 of 523 posts

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#391

Post by vmlinuz »

matthewrudy wrote: post #314
atonse wrote: post #5

This is awesome news. Now if only BBC's iPlayer would become global and allow us non-brits to pay for it (effectively subsidizing the TV license maybe?), that would be heaven.

Until recently I could watch it using my VPN from Hong Kong, but recently they've been blocking access from VPNs. I should set up my own VPN again, instead of using paid for services. Edit: I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing, given I've never paid for a UK TV licence, but for official purposes I still live at my parents' house, who do pay.

You need to get a better VPN my friend - mine still works!

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#392

Post by LordKano »

jsmeaton wrote: post #334
LordKano wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm of the belief that the better actors are paid far too much The market decides these things. It's difficult to argue that there isn't enough profit on a movie that has grossed over 1.5 billion dollars in three weeks to pay A-list actors A-list salaries. A-list actors don't make that kind of money because movie studios are generous. They make it because their presence puts butts in seats. Sure, the "Star Wars" name…

> The market decides these things Right, and I think the market is unfairly inflated at the moment, and has been for a long time. Movie ticket prices have more than doubled in the last ~ 10 years. The presence of streaming new blockbuster movies is likely to disrupt the traditional cinema if it is allowed to get off the ground . And that's basically the point I'm trying to make. If movies were to transition into the…

If movies were to transition into the Steam model where the cost is brought down but has higher reach, the gross is going to go down, and so should the marketing and actor budgets of such films.

Why would they? Why would a studio decide to reduce their gross and therefore their net by going with a less profitable model?

Streaming services that offer these kinds of movies at release date I think will bring the whole scam crashing down.

No more than Honda and Toyota put an end to the "scam" of American automakers.

One party providing a service or product at a specific price and other parties choosing to purchase or not purchase it is not a scam.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#393

Post by guimarin »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #328
sailfast wrote: post #43

What is missing in a lot of these comments is acknowledging that Netflix may become the largest global "television" network in the world as adoption increases. They have original content lined up and control those rights, and they will continue to expand their reach with that content. Whether they add the "same" streaming content as they have purchased from other providers in the US is not the point here - the big im…

I believe this is exactly right. And all the things that gave networks monopoly power (like spectrum ownership) will become irrelevant. You can mark the day this happens when NetFlix starts offering a daily 'news' update type program. Of course most people see this already, and the extreme tactics around last mile broadband are exactly around this problem. Netflix can't work if their packets can't get to you, and the…

You could imagine a kind of curated UGC for Netflix, where they take News personalities that are already well developed on YouTube and give them a platform to really go global. I for one cannot wait until this happens. The programming they've been putting out lately has been amazing for me.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#394

Post by dasil003 »

izacus wrote: post #236
dasil003 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having spent the last 8 years of my life building a streaming film company that has from day one streamed globally and dealt with this patchwork of rights issue, I can tell you one reason: Other than China and India, no other market is as big or insular as the US. In Europe people travel across borders and speak multiple languages all the time, and yet it's like pulling teeth to put together multiple regional subtitl…

Well, to be fair, Netflix STILL switches subtitle language when I cross the border making me stuck with german subtitles on everything even though I'd prefer english :/

Do you mean they literally don't make the English subs available? Even for the stuff they produced? A clunky UX is one thing, but if they legitimately restrict the sub availability where the rights are available then I'm a bit shocked.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#395

Post by agumonkey »

fudged71 wrote: post #130
sailfast wrote: post #43

What is missing in a lot of these comments is acknowledging that Netflix may become the largest global "television" network in the world as adoption increases. They have original content lined up and control those rights, and they will continue to expand their reach with that content. Whether they add the "same" streaming content as they have purchased from other providers in the US is not the point here - the big im…

Maybe a stupid questions but what if they disrupted not just TV but also cinema? I assume that the distribution of films around the world is more limited than we think. At some point when Netflix has a much larger subscriber base, it may make more sense for films to be released directly to Netflix for global consumption. They could even be clever about it and have it only open for "live showings" at specific hours or…

Abrams 'mystery box' will probably keep Cinemas alive for a while. Even with an unlimited access card I'm still not jaded enough to watch movies home. It's not the same experience (a crowd, the room, the size of things, the room).

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#396

Post by neolefty »

lsaferite wrote: post #372
ChuckMcM wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe this is exactly right. And all the things that gave networks monopoly power (like spectrum ownership) will become irrelevant. You can mark the day this happens when NetFlix starts offering a daily 'news' update type program. Of course most people see this already, and the extreme tactics around last mile broadband are exactly around this problem. Netflix can't work if their packets can't get to you, and the…

I didn't know I needed a Netflix live news channel until you mentioned it. Now I can't stop hoping they do that.

Could that fit with Netflix's current culture? They're big on content that's curated, high-quality, high-definition (with graceful degredation). Live news' editorial agility and responsiveness would require a department with a substantially different attitude and expertise.

They're capable of expanding and pivoting though, more than most companies, so if they decide it's a priority, it's possible. It seems like a pretty big commitment though.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#397

Post by jsmeaton »

LordKano wrote: post #392
jsmeaton wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The market decides these things Right, and I think the market is unfairly inflated at the moment, and has been for a long time. Movie ticket prices have more than doubled in the last ~ 10 years. The presence of streaming new blockbuster movies is likely to disrupt the traditional cinema if it is allowed to get off the ground . And that's basically the point I'm trying to make. If movies were to transition into the…

If movies were to transition into the Steam model where the cost is brought down but has higher reach, the gross is going to go down, and so should the marketing and actor budgets of such films. Why would they? Why would a studio decide to reduce their gross and therefore their net by going with a less profitable model? Streaming services that offer these kinds of movies at release date I think will bring the whole s…

> Why would they? Why would a studio decide to reduce their gross and therefore their net by going with a less profitable model?

I don't think the bigger ones will in the short to medium term. But if the gross is lower, then they're also paying less to actors and marketers (streaming services will "freely" market what they think will be popular titles), reducing the overall budget, and reducing the risk profile. The studios themselves may end up making more profits. In any case, that's why I mentioned the smaller budget films transitioning to such a streaming model may force the bigger ones to follow suit.

> No more than Honda and Toyota put an end to the "scam" of American automakers.

Scam was the wrong choice of word here, but do you understand the point I'm trying to make? A similar analogy that works in my favour is Steam as a distribution channel, undercutting physical disk distributors. Games became a lot cheaper, but the AAA titles still ask for and receive quite a high price comparatively.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#398

Post by ChuckMcM »

neolefty wrote: post #396
lsaferite wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't know I needed a Netflix live news channel until you mentioned it. Now I can't stop hoping they do that.

Could that fit with Netflix's current culture? They're big on content that's curated, high-quality, high-definition (with graceful degredation). Live news' editorial agility and responsiveness would require a department with a substantially different attitude and expertise. They're capable of expanding and pivoting though, more than most companies, so if they decide it's a priority, it's possible. It seems like a pre…

I could certainly imagine them doing a much better job of news coverage where all the "Stories" would be available independently and when things changed you got an indication of new data so you could, if you wanted to, watch from the change forward, or the whole piece. Sort of like the NY Times pushing and re-pushing an article as the available information gathers texture.

Since most of the news channels consist of rehashing things with the assumption that this is the "first" version you are seeing, they could provide a much better viewing experience that would certainly feel more curated and much more efficiently inform.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#399

Post by thirdsun »

fudged71 wrote: post #130
sailfast wrote: post #43

What is missing in a lot of these comments is acknowledging that Netflix may become the largest global "television" network in the world as adoption increases. They have original content lined up and control those rights, and they will continue to expand their reach with that content. Whether they add the "same" streaming content as they have purchased from other providers in the US is not the point here - the big im…

Maybe a stupid questions but what if they disrupted not just TV but also cinema? I assume that the distribution of films around the world is more limited than we think. At some point when Netflix has a much larger subscriber base, it may make more sense for films to be released directly to Netflix for global consumption. They could even be clever about it and have it only open for "live showings" at specific hours or…

Oh yes, please. The current state of cinema for me means that I have to put the name of a film on a list and check back in a year or two to see if it's actually available to me by then. Particularly for more obscure releases or documentations: When I see a movie website and the screening section shows ca. 5 cinemas in New York and L.A. I have to wonder who the hell are you trying to reach? Just offer a digital download for a fair price and let me watch the movie.

Re: Netflix Is Now Available Around the World

#400

Post by discodave »

neolefty wrote: post #396
lsaferite wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't know I needed a Netflix live news channel until you mentioned it. Now I can't stop hoping they do that.

Could that fit with Netflix's current culture? They're big on content that's curated, high-quality, high-definition (with graceful degredation). Live news' editorial agility and responsiveness would require a department with a substantially different attitude and expertise. They're capable of expanding and pivoting though, more than most companies, so if they decide it's a priority, it's possible. It seems like a pre…

Before doing a cable news type thing they would probably be better off starting with a PBS / 60 minutes type program. Long form journalism that still has value the next day.

Making a Murderer is already in this direction.

Post reply on HN