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Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#471

Post by timthorn »

DrBazza wrote: post #392
margaretdouglas wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you need cable/satellite if you're playing the a la carte game of streaming? I feel like the world where you have cable and streaming services is ending and you either live in a world with cable and maybe or two streaming services; similar to paying extra for HBO and Cinemax with your cable service in the past, or you cut the cord and manage bundling the "networks" yourself. Netflix+Hulu+HBOMax+Sports/Local Ne…

In the UK at least, it's Sky (satellite) or Virgin (cable), and they both bundle internet access with the service. Often it's more expensive to get the internet service on its own (Virgin) than getting the 'bundle' (tv+internet). Also, the free-to-air reception in some parts of the UK is still so poor, you need cable or satellite to watch any TV at all.

On the FTA point, Freesat is the satellite equivalent of Freeview and needs no subscription. Many TVs have Freesat tuners built in so you just need the dish.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#472

Post by throwitaway1235 »

pjc50 wrote: post #438
paganel wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or we could fall back to watching movies made from the ‘30s to the ‘50s, that’s what I have been doing for more than half a year now and it has been wonderful for my mental well-being (they really knew how to make comedies back then, even after the Hayes code).

We've had a regular "bad movie night" throughout the pandemic, and there are a lot of these that are available to pirate up to about the 90s on Youtube (or occasionally dailymotion) simply because their distributors no longer care about them.

I do the "bad movie night" with family too. I suggest Titanic 2 on Tubi. It's amazing in sheer awfulness.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#473

Post by andy_ppp »

dylan604 wrote: post #308
andy_ppp wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think DRM should be banned and paying for content should be super cheap - say per movie $1 for HD file download and $2 for a 4k version. For me I'd literally spend hundreds of dollars per year on content that I can own going forward. The funniest thing of course is I bet the studios would make more money than trying to charge me $4.99 to rent movies and absurd sums to "buy" them...

>I still think DRM should be banned and paying for content should be super cheap - say per movie $1 for HD file download and $2 for a 4k version Sounds like you need to go and produce some content and distribute it this way to show the world the way to englightenment. Please come back and post a Show HN on how well it worked out for you.

I do have sympathy with this view (that content creators can do as they like, of course!), but I’m just saying I want to be able to buy films (maybe > 5 years old), for very cheap, legally, in a format I own, that I can watch when I like on any device I choose. I think a lot of people would like this possibility too and would spend lots of money that they wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s difficult to prove either way of course without a spare content library. I’ve no interest in starting to charge for content, all the films I make will always be free. :-D

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#474

Post by joshstrange »

kyriakos wrote: post #469
joshstrange wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So on the Pi are you mounting the cloud server (or part of it) and then Plex just "proxies" the file to the local TV?

Exactly. Don't get me wrong I have Netflix and prime but Disney plus, hulu and hbo max are not available to me so I need to work around the stupid global restrictions.

I pay for multiple online services but I hate switching UI/UX/etc and remembering which platform has which show this week and where in the show I am. If I could cache files locally (on a server or phone/tablet) and suck all the content into Plex (or some other third-party client) then I'd pay quite a bit for that service.

As it stands today you can build your own version of this but if you want to stay 100% above board you get a crappier experience (don't get me started on the cluster-f around rights). It reminds me of the jokes back when DVDs were still a "thing" and you had to sit through ads and piracy warnings if you bought it legitimately but if you "stole" it you were able to jump right into the movie.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#475

Post by cacois »

aboringusername wrote: post #417
cacois wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So wait, your solution is to encourage all consumers to break the law and put themselves at legal risk, rather than have reasonable legislation focused on consumer welfare and encouraging competition?

Yes, because as of today, right now , every human on earth could decide to not visit the cinema again and instead download the content off of the internet. The laws take time, need to be tested in courts and are generally not as effective. If you're constantly under threat of losing your entire income stream and there's nothing you can do to prevent that (because the only way to prevent piracy of digital content is t…

Sure, but the idea of mass collective action is always a bit of a nuclear option, because it takes a huge bit of motivation to actually make _everyone_ do anything. So, could they? Sure. Will they en masse? No.

Everyone could have stolen cable back in the day and caused a decrease in cable prices and increase in customer experience. They didn't.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#476

Post by lotsofpulp »

IncRnd wrote: post #448
somethingwitty1 wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My current monthly cable subscription is $135 (plus "fees"). And when people say, "cable", they generally mean TV service. For many, that may mean a pricey satellite TV service (very expensive back in the day). Basic cable is likely what you are getting, but many people want to watch sports or movies, which requires premium subscriptions and it adds up quickly.

That's an insane price, and hopefully you can shop around or change packages.

There’s one wire going into the house usually that carries media, a coaxial cable. Hence, your options were always Dish or DirecTV satellite or the cable company.

Being able to buy and cancel on demand streaming for $15 or less per month is a massive improvement over the previous situation.

It has never been easier, cheaper, and more convenient to consume basically all content and yet people still find ways to complain.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#477

Post by sib »

Spivak wrote: post #41
scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #23

So what we're seeing is a repeat of the film industry from 1930's-1950's. You want to see a Paramount movie, you must go to a Paramount theater. Today you want to watch an Apple show you must go to Apple's VOD. We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Better stuff gets made in this kind of ecosystem.

Would you also establish compulsory licensing so that studios and distributors can’t have exclusive content?

Exclusive content --> more value for distribution channels --> ability to pay producers more money --> better content

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#478

Post by andy_ppp »

iso1631 wrote: post #342
andy_ppp wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I still think DRM should be banned and paying for content should be super cheap - say per movie $1 for HD file download and $2 for a 4k version. For me I'd literally spend hundreds of dollars per year on content that I can own going forward. The funniest thing of course is I bet the studios would make more money than trying to charge me $4.99 to rent movies and absurd sums to "buy" them...

$5 to rent a movie seems a bargain compared with times past.

But also in times past you had to have physical infrastructure in ever town to rent movies...

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#479

Post by vmchale »

wut42 wrote: post #16

> The deal can be viewed as a doubling down on business strategy that Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, articulated at a conference in 2016: “When we win a Golden Globe, it helps us sell more shoes,” he had said, referring to Amazon's diverse business divisions. This part is a real nugget.

Makes sense I guess. That goes deeper than I thought!
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