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Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

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Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#11

Post by compcoffee »

empath75 wrote: post #5

If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose. All those companies think: we own a lot of media, we can just build a streaming media platform. And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has. Netflix has an engineering team and a development and deployment process that has some production studios attached to it. Disney can…

>If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose.

As long as your platform meets some bare minimum standard of reliability (and every service I use seems to be able to) then content is the only thing that matters.

>And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has.

I think you are way overestimating the complexity. Sure, it's not something two guys are going to produce in their bedroom, but video delivery is a solved problem.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#12

Post by coralreef »

empath75 wrote: post #5

If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose. All those companies think: we own a lot of media, we can just build a streaming media platform. And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has. Netflix has an engineering team and a development and deployment process that has some production studios attached to it. Disney can…

Getting the engineering to scale fast would be difficult, but IMO isn't a fundamental issue. Streaming video is basically a solved problem and is not where the money is.

People subscribe for the content, not the technology. HBO isn't a tech first company but is probably doing a disproportionate amount of subscriptions thanks to Game of Thrones.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#13

Post by drngdds »

rhino369 wrote: post #6
MisterTea wrote: post #3

These companies are obsessed with fragmenting the market for the sake of owning content from production to delivery. I have bad news for them: you're going to lose. People don't want to go back to paying $100/month for a dozen streaming "channels" with one or two good shows and a the same crap the rest of the other "channels" have. We want an on-demand nexus. A single hub. Just the other day I had the urge to watch g…

>We want an on-demand nexus. A single hub. So you want one company to control all media? Seems like a poor plan longterm.

There could be many such hubs. They don't have to control the content, just buy the (non-exclusive) right to distribute it.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#14

Post by digi_owl »

A large part of the initial appeal of Netflix, in particular for foreigners, was that they seemed to house digitized versions of straight-to-VHS movies that never left USA.

But after the initial raving success, the big studios have been clamping down on giving blanket access to their back catalog of obscurities. Looking for those extra percentages of leaving out the middle man.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#15

Post by AnthonyMouse »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #7
empath75 wrote: post #5

If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose. All those companies think: we own a lot of media, we can just build a streaming media platform. And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has. Netflix has an engineering team and a development and deployment process that has some production studios attached to it. Disney can…

Yes. But Devil's Advocate here... Aside from stack, whatelse does Netflix have going for it? Pre-internet Blockbuster had an overpowering / dominate "stack" and that was their downfall. If VR is the next progression in home entertainment, who is best poised for that? Who has the tech + creativity DNA?

> Pre-internet Blockbuster had an overpowering / dominate "stack" and that was their downfall.

That is because the internet replaced them. Streaming is a direct replacement for video rentals. It's the exact same movie but you don't have to drive to the video store to get it. The industry itself doesn't go away. There isn't any apparent new distribution method that will do to the internet what the internet did to brick and mortar stores.

VR is a completely different industry, more related to video games than film, and from a distribution standpoint is nothing new. VR isn't going to cause people to download games from some hypothetical new non-internet distribution network.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#16

Post by yebyen »

skinnymuch wrote: post #4
MisterTea wrote: post #3

These companies are obsessed with fragmenting the market for the sake of owning content from production to delivery. I have bad news for them: you're going to lose. People don't want to go back to paying $100/month for a dozen streaming "channels" with one or two good shows and a the same crap the rest of the other "channels" have. We want an on-demand nexus. A single hub. Just the other day I had the urge to watch g…

Lionsgate Starz isn’t a big company with a lot of products so paying extra to watch things for that channel will be a challenge no matter what. On the other hand, HBO seems to be doing well enough with their not so cheap stand alone offering. Disney with Fox’s media would be a pretty big streaming provider and many people would likely get onto it. Good chance of it becoming a standard streaming service. So I don’t se…

If you're talking about HBO Go, I don't know how you gauge success, but if it's subscriber numbers I would take that with a grain of salt.

I am a Comcast subscriber, and like many Comcast subscribers I'm sure, I have one of their boxes in my house, with the most basic Cable TV package, because if I don't take it my cost goes up (I mean the overall price of the monthly billed amount from Comcast/Xfinity).

We get crappy quality SD letterbox channels including some local OTA channels that we can watch Jeopardy on, at lower quality than OTA whenever the antenna isn't doing the job.

Oh, and HBO/On-Demand is also included. That includes HBO Go (but not HBO Now.) I don't use either HBO service and I don't know how they are different, at the risk of adding anecdata to an otherwise solid argument...

Whether or not any of this works out to be a favorable deal for HBO, I can't say, but I hope this explains why I would say to take their digital subscriber numbers with a grain of salt. (On the other hand, I will actually pay for Showtime standalone when they have put out a new season of Homeland.)

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#17

Post by reubenmorais »

bootlooped wrote: post #10

I think maybe the title could use some punctuation or reworking > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner... Ok, yes, they bought Time Warner > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast... They bought Comcast too? > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast and Disney... And Disney!? > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast and Disney want Fox AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast; Disney w…

"Want" disambiguates to plural subject, so it can only be "Comcast and Disney want Fox".

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#18

Post by kgwgk »

empath75 wrote: post #5

If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose. All those companies think: we own a lot of media, we can just build a streaming media platform. And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has. Netflix has an engineering team and a development and deployment process that has some production studios attached to it. Disney can…

Disney does realtime streaming already. What does Netflix have that they would have problems to “copy”?

Edit: the question was obviously in the context of the parent comment talking about “the technology stack and processes“. Regarding the market share advantage, it’s debatable if each user is worth over $1000.

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#19

Post by zimmerfrei »

empath75 wrote: post #5

If those company think it’s about content libraries they’re going to lose. All those companies think: we own a lot of media, we can just build a streaming media platform. And I think they’re way underestimating how hard it is to build the technology stack and processes that Netflix has. Netflix has an engineering team and a development and deployment process that has some production studios attached to it. Disney can…

>> Disney can probably copy what Netflix has today, but by the time they’ve done that, Netflix will have updated their platform hundreds of time

Last year Disney acquired BAMTech (a spun of MLB Media) - though less known, their technical chops when it comes to video streaming are already in Netflix territory.

https://www.theverge.com/2015/8/4/9090897/mlb-bam-live-strea...

Re: Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner, and Comcast and Disney want Fox

#20

Post by adenadel »

bootlooped wrote: post #10

I think maybe the title could use some punctuation or reworking > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner... Ok, yes, they bought Time Warner > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast... They bought Comcast too? > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast and Disney... And Disney!? > Netflix Is Why AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast and Disney want Fox AT&T bought Time Warner and Comcast; Disney w…

AT&T bought Time Warner. Comcast and Disney both want Fox?
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