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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

#301
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious to understand what you're describing. Can you give an example of a Netflix show, the season and political trope, and how it detracted from the show's quality? And I'm definitely curious what you're imagining as you write out "repulsive".

Netflix has gone 'woke' in a lot of their (new) shows. A lot of shows feel very activist now. Entertainment shouldn't be stuffed with identity politics and other progressive nonsense which only caters to a small minority.[1] Examples: The new show 'Mr Iglesias' where the main character is a history teacher. In one of the first scenes the history of the US is summed up as 'oppression and slavery'. Many jokes about whi…

That’s because the more radical writers are not really hired by the more establishment studios, so Netflix picks them up for cheap. My guess at least.

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

#303
post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best Netflix originals are the British shows they've rebranded as Netflix originals in the US. The actual Netflix created ones have largely missed the mark for me.

And a lot of 'Netflix originals' over in the EU are essentially localised variations of a theme. The theme is usually the end of the world, zombies, or the dead coming back to life. Or some horrible phenomena at the edge of a forest, and the once peaceful town is under attack from the supernatural. What makes it worse is that Netflix now dubs foreign content by default to make it all look English. And they do their b…

what's frustrated me about Netflix originals is the same thing that drove me away from a lot of traditional TV - some awesome shows being cancelled after 2-3 seasons. I had hoped that Netflix would at least give their own shows a good story arc, but nope. they're doing the same thing Fox/CBS/NBC do.

i still much prefer shows without commercials, though.

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

#304
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…

Of course people would rather pay $10 a month to access everything, but that's just not sustainable. Look at Netflix's own financials. They got into content creation and they're now deep in debt despite their massive subscriber base. I also don't get why everyone is clamoring for one company to control all video entertainment distribution. Isn't that what we hated about cable? Didn't we beg for the ability to pick an…

You can only watch so much content. Streaming platforms should pay the content creators based on what is actually watched. The fact that they chose to also produce content is irrelevant. That's a completely separate business and if they mixed their books that's their mistake and they have to deal with it.

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

#305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's certainly a hell of a lot easier to not have to think about where to find your favorites. And once it's downloaded there are (almost) never any playback issues.

It’s laughable to me that after all the years of investment and business development in these steaming services it’s still much, much, much easier to use p2p networks to get content you want. I wonder if there would just be more profit in injecting advertisements in tv shows and distributing them openly using BitTorrent? Think of the size of the audience, yeah people will cut the ads out but a lot of people couldn’t…

i thought that as well, but there are still some hoops. or in the case of most of the apps for the Fire TV sticks, a new hurdle - unstoppable full screen video advertisements. i've noticed that releases of things like Popcorn Time have slowed down tremendously but Terrarium/cinema/etc for the fire sticks has picked up a lot. and they all have built-in ads now.

just interesting to me how the scene has changed.

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

#306

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…

Or maybe the Netflix Prize was just a PR/advertising exercise. $1M is cheap, all things considered.

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

#307
post #217

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…

Yes! That has driven me away from YouTube and Netflix recently. I know there is an ocean of content out there but when I sign in all I see is the same dozen shitty recommendations that I have no interest in! I watched one comedy special a year ago and my feed is half stand-up comedy now.

or your kid accidentally starts playing one of the "mock buster" movies. like the absolute garbage take off of Pacific Rim called "Atlantic Rim."

Now my feed is full of those. I wish Netflix would stop buying those movies.

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

#308

Nielsen's unable to offer value to streaming services. Their technology and service only work with traditional broadcast television. They would like to see streaming services to send them their data so they can sell it back to them. Streaming services don't benefit from such an agreement. Netflix has been in the streaming business for 10+ years, as has Hulu. For Nielsen to say they can tell these services how streami…

Nielsen claimed to be able to track Netflix efficiently two years ago.

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

#309

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 s…

> it starts autoplaying videos at you in obnoxious attempt to grab your interest and attention.

at LEAST make this something that the users can disable. I'm not always using Netflix for loud action movies. Sometimes I want something quiet and chill. the obnoxious previews are too much.

sensory overload. they're almost startling sometimes.

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

#310
I'm interested to see how this plays out. Netflix will either figure it out and survive or they'll continue to shed subscribers and get acquired by Apple to augment AppleTV. I say that partly in jest.

My Netflix was cancelled about 6 months ago. It felt like it was another version of Facebook... great for mindless scrolling but nothing that made me want to stop scrolling and watch. Part of it was the loss of several favorite shows making the service not worth the price plus the price of other subscriptions. I would say the same about Prime Video if it wasn't free with Amazon Prime.

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