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HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

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Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#111

Post by jrs95 »

nabla9 wrote: post #29
dclusin wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels to me like the balkanization of streaming services was inevitable and Netflix getting into the content game was just a logical response to remain relevant. If the catalog is what garners subscribers then a streaming service without its own catalog is basically fucked in the long term.

It's interesting that HBO reached agreement to stream trough Hulu (Disney) even when WarnerMedia is trying to push their own competitor HBO Max.

It makes a lot of sense IMO. They can immediately make more money in the short term, and after their competing product is ready they can negotiate more favorable terms with Hulu or not renew their agreement, which will direct a portion of people that discovered their content through Hulu to their own platform.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#112

Post by jamesrcole »

krzyk wrote: post #90
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This balkanization is a good thing. I'd far rather have the choice between many competing providers each offering a service at £8/month, than have the choice to take or leave a single expensive all-in-one subscription, like cable. It's also good that market forces are driving content-creation.

No, it is not. Not when they compete with exclusive content. It would be good if they had the same content but compete with the UI (in such case Netflix would win, and HBO would loose, as they have the worst possible UI), streaming content etc.

Most (all?) of that exclusive content only gets produced because of exclusivity, I’d think. I.e. we get a greater number of shows because of exclusivity.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#113

Post by fenwick67 »

marpstar wrote: post #30
gtirloni wrote: post #22

If they could show the IMDB rating, it would be enough for me.

Why do streaming services tend to show the Rotten Tomatoes score instead of IMDb? I trust the IMDb score a lot more...

RottenTomatoes Tomatometer or audience scores or both? You really need both to get a feel for the quality.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#114

Post by cjdrake »

This reminds me of some comments Quentin Tarantino once made about Netflix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NbxVZC9CJQ.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see more of a trend towards content curation that isn't based on AI recommendation engines, but rather humans who are either friends or celebrities/experts.

Some ideas: * My friends are watching this * Martin Scorsese's film influences * Cinemassacre Monster Madness watch list

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#115

Post by ecmascript »

ageitgey wrote: post #9

As Netflix has moved away from carrying lots of other people's movies to largely producing their own in-house TV shows, it feels like they barely have enough content to need an algorithm to curate it. They just show the same new Netflix originals over and over in ever category. I'm sure Netflix has piles of data that shows this is the best strategy. It just seems like a differentiated curation strategy doesn't matter…

Not to mention the utter crap they produce. Seriously, I can't say I have endured more than 3-5 good series or movies they have produced. I have started to watch a lot of them but instantly the low quality is a clear indication on what's to come.

Most of the stuff they produce are super political when they don't have to be, very bad writing or acting often with a great base story that could have been something great but filled with characters doing completely stupid things.

Some also have a really fucked up message due to the extreme woke-ness like "In the Shadow of the Moon". A movie which starts of pretty good and interesting and then quickly enters a downhill path to the extreme ideologies that seems to fuel companies like Netflix.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#116

Post by [deleted] »

ageitgey wrote: post #9

As Netflix has moved away from carrying lots of other people's movies to largely producing their own in-house TV shows, it feels like they barely have enough content to need an algorithm to curate it. They just show the same new Netflix originals over and over in ever category. I'm sure Netflix has piles of data that shows this is the best strategy. It just seems like a differentiated curation strategy doesn't matter…

[deleted]

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#117

Post by wodenokoto »

ageitgey wrote: post #9

As Netflix has moved away from carrying lots of other people's movies to largely producing their own in-house TV shows, it feels like they barely have enough content to need an algorithm to curate it. They just show the same new Netflix originals over and over in ever category. I'm sure Netflix has piles of data that shows this is the best strategy. It just seems like a differentiated curation strategy doesn't matter…

> They just show the same new Netflix originals over and over in ever category.

Try watching a bunch of Bollywood, K-drama or anime and you’ll see that the recommendations change drastically.

But yeah, they aren’t exactly trying to challenge their viewers to try something different.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#118

Post by lifeisstillgood »

ed25519FUUU wrote: post #62
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #60

just weaponise YouTube content creators. My kids used to laugh at Villager News, a dumb but occasionally funny skit show using 3D animation to copy Minecraft. Amazon Video now runs the show on its streaming service. Basically YouTube became a method to make pilots for tv series. Imagine all the weird but low cost documentaries i try and find on YouTube - Tods Workshop, Primitive Technology. There will be a thousand s…

> Amazon Video now runs the show on its streaming service. In that scenario you're competing against YouTube, a place with abundant content with very different expectations for quality. People already go to YouTube for this content.

But the curation of lifting it out of youtube and into "mainstream" has a major discoverability effect - if youtube is just pure anarchy, selecting and promoting off youtube is ... feudalism?

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#119

Post by extr »

minouye wrote: post #99
extr wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a great question and I might steal this for future interviews. It's surprising how many of the people responding, despite being told optimizing for engagement is a cop-out, still jump to some kind of metric-based prescription. Or just jump right into throwing percentages for each content type (I mean, it's twitter, so sure, have a go). My personal stab at this: this is really a strategic question. What are Ne…

You're hired! Great strategic answer that gets to the heart of the question--it's less about the solution and more about how you frame the problem and the underlying goals and assumptions. Do you work in this space? It seems like you have a lot of context around OTT/streaming. Your answer also brought to mind this podcast episode I came across this morning: http://investorfieldguide.com/shishir-mehrotra-the-art-and-s…

Thanks! I actually don't work in streaming/OTT, I manage a data science team for an auto insurance company. We end up thinking a lot about these kinds of questions from different business units that aren't quite sure what they want to be optimizing for, so I'm somewhat used to making the connection between high level strategy and measurable objectives. And as you might imagine churn/bundling/LTV are also very important concepts in the insurance space, which probably gave me a leg up in my response. The revenue model is at least superficially similar.

Thanks for the podcast link, it looks very relevant and will give it a listen. I see insurance is even explicitly addressed @ the 23 minute mark.

Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms

#120

Post by dgellow »

lonelappde wrote: post #92
MaxBarraclough wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prices are much lower than a cable package.

Disney+ with Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Apple+, Amazon Prime, Starz, adds up if you want full coverage.

Can you even watch that much content? I would expect that you only keep 1-3 subscriptions at the same time, and juggle between the different platforms when you want to watch some exclusive content. Like, Netflix for 1-2 month to watch some exclusives, then you cancel until the next time something seems interesting enough.
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