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Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#571

Post by ctdonath »

paganel wrote: post #83
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Piracy is competition to bad content behavior. It's a meaningful consumer response to monopoly, balkanization and other anti-consumer practices.

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).

Or just watch whatever one service provides. My queue on any service is always way longer than what I can get thru.

YouTube & others provide a large library for free (with ads). I assume most here are Amazon Prime members anyway, so that vast library is practically free. Apple TV always has some good $5 movies.

As I get older, the less I care about seeing the latest stuff - as there's always more I want to watch than I can get to.

(And if there really isn't enough for you to watch, you really need be doing something else.)

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#572

Post by michaelmrose »

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.

Half the country can't really shop around they need to buy internet alone from the same cable company and then replace TV with netflix hulu etc but long term there isn't much stopping the cable provider from jacking up the price of just internet to what you are paying for TV and internet and claiming to offer you a deal for just a little bit more if you pay THEM for tv.

Hi we've noticed you used to pay us $200 for internet and tv but now pay $100 to use and $50 for streaming services. How would you instead like to pay us 200 for internet and 220 if you want TV too. our $20 tv addon is cheaper than netflix because its subsidized by the monopoly rent we are charging you on internet access! Also we have noticed that despite bandwidth being cheaper than ever we can also discourage your netflix use by also charging extra for using "too much" data.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#573

Post by figgis »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #556
xixixao wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started watching SG1 again (I saw it incomplete as a kid). It’s incredibly good. It pushes rationalism and feminism in a sane way that I’m not sure would happen in today’s environment. It’s incredibly rich in historical references and concepts. It’s rarely dumb and often preempts cliches. It’s still worth watching imho (and is much less known that Star Trek in US).

Like you I also recently restarted watching SG-1 for the first time since I was a kid. It holds up a lot better than I expected it to. There's the occasional eyerolling cliche (and Carter's dialog about internal vs external gonads is kinda ridiculous) but like you said the cliches are also lampshaded pretty often. I just watched an episode where the Stargate broke and there was an exchange that went something like th…

Just finished rewatching sg1 as well and in a later episode Carter even makes fun of herself for the absurdity of that first episode gonads comment.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#574

Post by michaelmrose »

IncRnd wrote: post #465
lovegoblin wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hopefully you can shop around i.e., if you're lucky enough to have more than one alternative (if any).

There may be places that have only one provider with only one option in that provider, but are those places really $135/month with all the TV channels? The issue might be paying for things that are already free over the Internet.

There may be places? Try half of America.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#575

Post by daseiner1 »

throwitaway1235 wrote: post #459
johnchristopher wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Frankly, I'm glad I have a waning interest in modern movies as I get older, and I'm actually more interested in watching old black and white movies that are "free to air" in my country. My mother recently gave me a sub-account to Netflix and while I was thrilled to rewatch some shows I liked (like the OA or good old star trek) I was quickly submerged by the sheer amount of YA novels adapted in TV shows or movies th…

The Criterion collection is a good choice for those with a more discerning taste in film. Well curated too. But expensive.

Criterion Channel is a great, lower-budget streaming option ($11/month)

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#576

Post by hardwaregeek »

godfreyantonell wrote: post #509
et-al wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're a minority, it's nice having a relatable positive role model in the media you consume.

Or, at a minimum, to not have a negative role model.

Yeah I'd just settle for not-racist-caricature, looking at you Mickey Rooney

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#577

Post by dkarl »

caeril wrote: post #512
akira2501 wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Piracy is competition to bad content behavior. No it isn't. It's a workaround. This is an 8 billion dollar deal, there would have to be an impossible amount of piracy for it to count as "competition." This is precisely the reason why government regulation here is correct, as consumers, we don't have a lever long enough to have any real impact on the core problem. And we're just one side of the deal. These types of…

> No it isn't. It's a workaround. Sure, but it's a trivially easy workaround. Our focus of attention on matters of regulation ought to be in those areas where working around the problem is not nearly as dead simple as a torrent client, a NAS, and a Plex server.

Trivially easy for a trivially small number of people. Does everyone else have to put up with whatever experience Amazon thinks they should get?

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#578

Post by michaelmrose »

thayne wrote: post #375
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…

For many people in the states it is difficult or impossible to get internet without cable bundled in. And your argument assumes that the shows you want are clustered into one of the providers. But what if you like one show from Netflix, one from Hulu, one from HBOMax, etc. You still have to pay for all the shows you don't care about from each of those providers. The different streaming services is roughly equivalent…

Maybe there could be a standard industry fee paid based on number of users and resolution instead of exclusives. This is kind of how radio works.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#579

Post by rhino369 »

archie_diak wrote: post #522
rhino369 wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crypto "market cap" isn't really comparable to the market cap of companies. Nobody would (or could) ever buy Dogecoin for 44b. But companies are usually purchased for more than market cap.

Er, yes they would. Thousands of people already have, that's why its 44bn. It's a market cap not a paper valuation. Are you suggesting that if someone wanted to buy Doge outright they could pay less than it's market cap?

There is no mechanism to buy all Doge and the "market cap" of Doge includes lost coins. If you bought all of Doge, its value would be gone since it would be like it didn't exist.

You might as well calculate the market cap of baseball cards.

It's just not the right way to measure the worth of a crypto.

Put another way, if Doge owners decided to collectively sell it would be worth 0.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#580

Post by TecoAndJix »

Kye wrote: post #421
unethical_ban wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had only seen TNG until two years ago. I knew almost every episode past season 2, and really loved it. Still do. But then I watched Deep Space Nine, and wow. I got hooked. I "only" watched about 80 episodes that are the plot arc + a few outstanding solos, but still. The quality of the acting, the more "on the nose" social messaging, the darker side of the Federation, the racial struggles between the crew - if I hea…

Stargate Atlantis might be a better starting point. It had the benefit of a fully-built world before the protagonist power creep hit its stride.

I have watched Stargate Atlantis but not SG-1 or SGU. I loved Atlantis and thought it was a very fun show. Looking forward to starting SG-1 when there is time...
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