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Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#101

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

mrep wrote: post #58
wgerard wrote: post #8

Total anecdote: Kinda sucks when shows leave Netflix and don't get replaced; half the appeal of Netflix is the ability to quickly switch between Futurama and Always Sunny, and more importantly to be able to watch those shows on a platform that doesn't completely suck (FX's app has got to be one of the worst apps I've ever used). When "Parts Unknown" was about to leave Netflix, I really questioned whether it was worth…

I don't blame them. Netflix had 2 options: 1. Continue licensing content and be subject to the whims of the content creators who can destroy their margin by increasing fees. The content creators can also start their own streaming services like disney is planning on doing eating into that market of streaming. 2. Create their own content eliminating the 2 main risks in option 1. Option 2 is really the only viable optio…

Creating good content is harder than leasing it. Option 2 has it's risks, and honestly they seem higher.

Why would Disney or Comcast want Netflix to fail when it's a boon for them currently? Sure, they'll aggressively negotiate the best deals for themselves, sure they'll plan for a backup in the event Netflix would ever stop leasing their content, but why kick a cash cow in the teeth? It's bad business.

If anything, Netflix jumped the shark cutting their cheques to the providers and creating their own content.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#102

Post by FridgeSeal »

scrooched_moose wrote: post #91
Spooky23 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share your observations, but wanted to add the their browsing system is just bonkers. Discovery is impossible — imo they overoptimize for engagement and make it hard to explore the catalog. I find out about many new shows via PR placements in newspapers.

I was completely out of stuff to watch about a month ago. No matter what I did I could only get the same ~100 shows and movies that I'd either already watched or had no interest in. On a whim I switched over to my step father's profile - holy shit! There were at least 15 movies I wanted to watch that I absolutely could not get to show up on my profile without searching by name. I found a handful more on other family…

And herein lies the issue with filtering/tailoring based on what you've watched/liked before: it can never 'escape' and give you something different that you might actually really like.

I don't know how many good titles I discovered browsing random titles in video stores back in the day.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#103

Post by derefr »

bunderbunder wrote: post #85
ehsankia wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't care about what ranking they use as it gives good results. Thumbs up, 5 starts, 10 starts, %, it's all the same. What frustrates me is that even after changing it, the recommendations are still just as bad, so the whole change was basically pointless.

The recs were very good back when it was the DVD service. Wild conjecture: A paucity of things to recommend, combined with a desire to not concede that there are only like 3 things left I haven't watched yet but would be likely to give 5 stars, prompted them to first tweak the recommender's calibration, then eventually to wholesale switch to a metric that blurs the distinction between, "Yeah, I'll watch it", and "Tha…

My guess is that they’re using variable-scheduled rewards: they’ll recommend you a bunch of shows they know you’d only give 3-4 stars, and “hold back” a 5 star show, surfacing it at some random set time since the last time they gave you something good.

Such a strategy would get you more addicted, but also allow them to stretch their supply of subjectively-five-star-rated shows at the same time. It’s win-win ...for them.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#104

Post by openIce »

scrooched_moose wrote: post #91
Spooky23 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I share your observations, but wanted to add the their browsing system is just bonkers. Discovery is impossible — imo they overoptimize for engagement and make it hard to explore the catalog. I find out about many new shows via PR placements in newspapers.

I was completely out of stuff to watch about a month ago. No matter what I did I could only get the same ~100 shows and movies that I'd either already watched or had no interest in. On a whim I switched over to my step father's profile - holy shit! There were at least 15 movies I wanted to watch that I absolutely could not get to show up on my profile without searching by name. I found a handful more on other family…

This so much! When I open the documentaries category I get the same 50 shitty reality shows every fucking time

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#105

Post by aslkdjaslkdj1 »

wolco wrote: post #66
warent wrote: post #49

My girlfriend and I use Netflix to watch Star Trek, Chinese movies, and Indian/Bollywood films. That's it. Honestly the UX has been steadily getting better from my perspective and the film selection now is way beyond where it was ~3 years ago. Maybe I'm an outlier? It didn't occur to me that it might be an unpopular opinion to say that Netflix is actually good

I'm trying out HBO/Movie network. Once you get through 15 mostly goid series the content gets very thin. For half the price netflix has more original and unique content and provides more value at half the codt. I like the variety I wish the UI promoted it a little better

HBO has a much better movie selection than Netflix.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#106

Post by dunpeal »

An interesting question for me is whether Netflix will also experience a wave of talent departures as an additional result of this stock plunge.

Netflix is competing for talent as a FAANG outfit, and as such much of the value they provide to their employees depends on their RSUs. This works great as long as stock price is on a steep rise, as has generally been the case for FAANG over the past several years.

Now that the price is on a downslope, though, we should expect their compensation package to be less competitive than other tech companies, and especially FAANG.

Will they be able to deal with it somehow? Or will their top talent migrate to more successful tech companies that can pay as well as Netflix did while its stock was rising?

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#107

Post by [deleted] »

whymauri wrote: post #47
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another anecdote: I’d have cancelled Netflix a while ago if my family wasn’t using it. Their UX has been on a steady decline for me: - Audio previews make it so I never want to browse for what to watch next. I hate having to fumble with my tv/home theatre remote because of this. - If you leave it hanging, the previews count towards a watch! Wow. God help you if you wanna make some popcorn. - Their sorts are always sh…

100% on the bilingual thing. For my family and I, it's kinda awkward - weird localization failure for such a large corp. Not to mention completely botched translations like the title of Money Heist (actually called The Paper House), which is the dumbest name I've ever seen.

[deleted]

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#108

Post by manojlds »

firasd wrote: post #2

Here in India, Netflix costs ₹500/mo. Amazon Prime costs ₹999 for the whole year. Both are much pricier compared to regular cable TV, which gives you hundreds of channels for a few hundred rupees per month. So there's a saturation point to at least some of their international expansion unless incomes start rising more broadly... Also, anecdotally, I only have so much time for 'prestige' TV. They cover Delhi and Youtu…

More importantly, Hotstar is ₹999 per year right now and you get movies, TV shows including GoT and Westworld, live sports including IPL and F1.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#109

Post by manojlds »

Pxtl wrote: post #6
firasd wrote: post #2

Here in India, Netflix costs ₹500/mo. Amazon Prime costs ₹999 for the whole year. Both are much pricier compared to regular cable TV, which gives you hundreds of channels for a few hundred rupees per month. So there's a saturation point to at least some of their international expansion unless incomes start rising more broadly... Also, anecdotally, I only have so much time for 'prestige' TV. They cover Delhi and Youtu…

Surprising how the ratio is so far reversed in India. Here in Canada (which is a similar market to the USA), Netflix is the cheapest option. Cable TV is several times more expensive for even a basic plan, and Amazon Prime costs about the same as Netflix (but includes the other Prime services).

OP is comparing apples and oranges. Cable TV with less channels and no HD is cheaper maybe than Netflix. With all channels and proper HD it will be about same as Netflix price or more.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#110

Post by rorykoehler »

eganist wrote: post #78
wgerard wrote: post #8

Total anecdote: Kinda sucks when shows leave Netflix and don't get replaced; half the appeal of Netflix is the ability to quickly switch between Futurama and Always Sunny, and more importantly to be able to watch those shows on a platform that doesn't completely suck (FX's app has got to be one of the worst apps I've ever used). When "Parts Unknown" was about to leave Netflix, I really questioned whether it was worth…

Happened to me with Amazon Prime as well. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16937290 The moment they announced the price hike, it's like something cracked in my rationalization to maintain the service, and every adverse complaint I've ever queued up in my mind against the service floated right to the top. I'm on the verge of the same with Netflix. If I see a price hike, I'll quit just the same. They've been losing…

I had prime through subscribing for the shopping service. I never found one show I wanted to watch on there apart from old stuff I'd already seen elsewhere.
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