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Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

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Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#121

Post by isbjorn16 »

adrianmonk wrote: post #117
isbjorn16 wrote: post #77

My problem with Netflix isn't the slate of shows and movies it has in its catalog. It's definitely not as nice as it used to be, but there are a jillion and a half shows and movies out there. My problem is that Netflix has taken note that we watch anime a few times a week, which doubtless means we want every single band/carousel/whatever to be about anime. New Anime, Critically Acclaimed Anime, Popular Anime, Watch i…

Once upon a time, Netflix gave away $1 million to contest winners in an attempt to get the best recommendation algorithm they could ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize ). Now the recommendations are just not that great. It's like they're not trying too hard because they are comfy in their market position. I have never watched any anime at all (really not my thing), but Netflix keeps recommending it to me de…

Wait where's the thumbs down rating?

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#122

Post by tedsanders »

There's something I don't understand, but I'd like to. Most of the criticisms of Netflix I see fall into two buckets:

One common criticism is that Netflix is worse than regular TV, because having to actively choose a Netflix show is more stressful than regular TV, where you can just turn it on, sit back, and relax.

The second common criticism I read is that Netflix is annoying, because as soon as you turn it on, it starts autoplaying videos at you in obnoxious attempt to grab your interest and attention.

Like, aren't these two criticisms completely opposite? Regular TV always autoplays at full volume. What nuance would help me understand why autoplaying is annoying on Netflix but not annoying on regular TV?

(Disclosure: I work at Netflix, am speaking purely in a personal capacity, but would love to make things better for people to the extent that I can.)

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#123

Post by magicalhippo »

Personally I often don't want to invest too much into starting a new series, and I don't have time for an entire movie.

I also often want to learn new things, or see something interesting. So I turn to YouTube, with all the creative folks uploading interesting and engaging videos about all sorts.

I think Netflix is missing something by focusing entirely on TV series and movies. Give me something interesting I can watch for 15, 30, 45 minutes that doesn't require the kind of mental investment a TV series does.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#124

Post by Animats »

happytoexplain wrote: post #27
hyencomper wrote: post #7

I think Netflix has lost touch with their consumer base, with most changes such as removal of the rating system being universally criticized. I cancelled my subscription recently as I realized that while Netflix has a lot of shows, there is a dearth of quality content and the search function is not useful. With shows like Friends and Office leaving, there is not much to draw people who like leaving it on in the backg…

>the auto-playing of trailers at full volume is super-annoying. This was baffling to me. I've rarely had such a stressful user experience as a trailer playing every single time I stop pressing the arrow buttons for a few seconds. Just because I stopped pressing buttons doesn't mean I want to see a trailer for whatever I happened to stop on - it means I'm thinking about something, or reading something, or looking at s…

Fandango put that on their movie theater web site. It's so annoying that I never buy tickets online any more. I just find out the time and buy at the theater.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#125

Post by perl4ever »

isbjorn16 wrote: post #77

My problem with Netflix isn't the slate of shows and movies it has in its catalog. It's definitely not as nice as it used to be, but there are a jillion and a half shows and movies out there. My problem is that Netflix has taken note that we watch anime a few times a week, which doubtless means we want every single band/carousel/whatever to be about anime. New Anime, Critically Acclaimed Anime, Popular Anime, Watch i…

It seems like there is some pitfall in making a recommendation algorithm that more and more people are falling in to.

I don't watch TV or have Netflix, but I listen to streaming music, and I noticed something weird. I used to listen to Pandora, and it recommended a lot of different artists that I liked on hearing them for the first time. It single-handedly gave me a taste for 21st century music. But there wasn't enough music in their catalog, so I switched to Spotify. Now Spotify will play more of the songs by people I already like, but very nearly everything it plays that I didn't find on Pandora I hate and it keep playing the same things over and over no matter how quickly and frequently I skip past them.

It's hard for me to believe that they could be this bad and unresponsive unwittingly, but I wonder if perhaps there is some kind of naive algorithm that is failing.

...you may say, why don't I explicitly mark songs "like" or "dislike", but I mostly listen in my car where I can't do that.

One alternative hypothesis is that different people use Pandora vs. Spotify and the ones on Pandora have better taste, but I can't believe that's all of it.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#126

Post by jdsully »

drenvuk wrote: post #4
jdsully wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worked wonders for broadcast and cable TV.

I don't see why Netflix can't provide the best of both worlds. edit: btw I'm a huge fan of your work with keydb.

They are getting there with their auto-play functionality. The missing piece is themed “channels”.

P.s. Thanks for your kind words. I’m always open to feedback/suggestions for KeyDB. Feel free to open a GitHub issue at any time.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#127

Post by m463 »

effingwewt wrote: post #55
opencl wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is definitely advertising. Back when streaming services were new, the lack of advertising was a major selling point of streaming services vs cable but now they're stuffed full of ads and for some reason the ads are for content you've already paid for.

This is exactly what happened with cable. People were told to pay a subscription fee to avoid all the commercials of broadcast television. They got enough subscribers, and began the commercials. Years later and losing 1/3 of a show is the norm. This is why all 30 min shows only have a 20-22 min runtime. We have all simply come full circle. Hulu is going the same way with their commercials on my commercial free sub, a…

What caused me to cancel satellite was when the scifi channel (syfy) started with pop-up show advertisements (with sound!) during a show.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#128

Post by nilkn »

archey1 wrote: post #75

Netflix is just getting more expensive and less interesting to me. With all of the content I like being taken off to be hosted on network exclusive streaming platforms that I refuse to pay for - I'll probably eventually just cancel Netflix as well going back to the tried and true method of just buying bluray box-sets of the content I want to watch. Or piracy. I think the critical mistake that all these megacorps are…

What’s most interesting to me is the rise of YouTube. Increasingly for movies I just rent one, for TV shows again I just rent or buy a whole season unless it’s a show I’m really into, and for “open the app and try to find something randomly” moments I go to YouTube, not Netflix anymore.

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#129

Post by 4rgento »

reaperducer wrote: post #113
markkanof wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better than Hulu that now shows us every commercial in Spanish. No one in my household speaks Spanish. The only thing I can guess is that I know ONE TIME my daughter accidentally selected the Spanish translation of one of her cartoons.

The New York Times app shows me ads in Spanish. Don't speak Spanish. No one in my house does.

Well, time to pick up duolingo's Spanish course...

When life gives you lemons…

Re: Netflix CEO may have missed the real reason why US subscriber numbers plunged

#130

Post by forgotmysn »

isbjorn16 wrote: post #121
adrianmonk wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once upon a time, Netflix gave away $1 million to contest winners in an attempt to get the best recommendation algorithm they could ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize ). Now the recommendations are just not that great. It's like they're not trying too hard because they are comfy in their market position. I have never watched any anime at all (really not my thing), but Netflix keeps recommending it to me de…

Wait where's the thumbs down rating?

im pretty sure they removed it

edit: i could be mistaken though

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