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Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

interneteconomist.com

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Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#221

Post by FinalBriefing »

ericmay wrote: post #205
discardable_dan wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm about in your boat, except with HBO Max instead of Apple TV+ (their shows aren't as appealing to me). And as those numbers climb and I look at one to cut, Netflix is the easiest. That's the whole point, though: Netflix is going to be the service on the chopping block before these others.

Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you? If you dropped them on HBO I wouldn't know the difference. There are lots of different genres, great actors, and compelling stories. We have Netflix (via T-Mobile), Hulu, Prime, HBO, Disney+ and Apple TV. Some of these (Disney/Hulu) are from family or friends. WE only pay for Prime (probably the lowest quality of all of these) and Apple TV (because of Apple One…

I agree. If I had to pick 2, it would be HBO and Apple TV+.

If I had to pick 1...probably HBO because their movie rotation generally has great classics.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#222

Post by jdprgm »

A few months back I went through my watch history on the app after thinking I hadn't seen a good Netflix series in awhile and comparing 2018/2019 to 2020/2021 Netflix put out 5X less content I was interested in. There was a period where almost every weekend there was a new series dropping or a comedy special or something interesting and then it just fell off a complete cliff. Understandably covid impacted productions but somehow other streaming networks seemed to do much better.

Netflix's position on cancelling shows on a whim is also extremely frustrating. It's also completely bizarre to me that they (or really any streaming service) don't seem to be willing to even try to create any quality sitcoms despite paying fortunes to license all the good ones from the past 20 years and these clearly having massive value from a re-watchability perspective on a platform compared to a watch it once drama series.

Also I don't understand why the user interface particularly on AppleTV particularly around new shows is basically straight up hostile to the user. Just show me a damn feed for new content (this is one of the most insane trends in tech lately of refusal to have a time series feed of content (Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, etc). Netflix will show under "New" stuff that came out months and months ago and at the same time a new season will come out of a show they know i've watched previous seasons of and it won't even be the first thing on my feed.

Now in December for the first time in ages they actually had some good content to buy back some goodwill after being so bad for nearly all of the pandemic and what do they do... immediately jack up prices. Insanity.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#223

Post by nirvdrum »

rurp wrote: post #199
ghaff wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may be true but network TV regularly killed TV shows early in their run too--often in the first season even.

True but networks have a severe time slot constraint, in addition to the same production costs as Netflix, so it's a lot more understandable. Maybe my perception is off but Netflix seems even worse about killing new shows after 1-2 seasons, which is pretty ridiculous IMO. Netflix seems overly reliant on small scale KPIs at the expense of the overall experience. Of course it's possible that they know exactly what they…

Wired had an article about this a year or so back [0] that said shows get more expensive after the first two seasons, so Netflix is inclined to kill them in favor of new shows. It also said viewership during that initial window also heavily influences the renewal process. Netflix has a lot more data than network television ever has and I think it leads them to be a bit overzealous with their decision making. Most shows I've really enjoyed have a weak first season as they find their footing.

[0] -- https://www.wired.co.uk/article/netflix-originals-cancelled-...

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#224

Post by daemin »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #111

Netflix will be probably be the cable "channel" I think of canceling last, for the simple reason that their usage ergonomics are stupidly simple. When I go to the Netflix app, I have a simple value proposition – pay money for viewing, in any country across the world if it's a Netflix original , and without any add-on crap. The only thing they did wrong was autoplaying previews, and I hope whoever was responsible for…

"Outside USA", might be a niche case for you but it's the main reality for most people. It's the best thing about Netflix that I can have an account in any country and go to any other country and still access most content.

I've got some other services too, so I'll see how they cope with me being in a totally different country to the one I subscribed in initially.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#225

Post by brimble »

samwillis wrote: post #35
discardable_dan wrote: post #2

I said this again recently, but it's worth repeating: Netflix is on the very fast downward slope. Their catalog is wilting, the space is heating up with well-established competitors moving in and serving the precise content that Netflix originally built their brand on, and their efforts to fund a new catalog with new IP (and taking ownership of old IP) is destroying the business model that made them so appealing in t…

While I don't entirely agree with you I do think the price of Netflix is getting a little higher than the value we personally get out of it. Our personal breakdown this year (in the UK): Adults in the house, we are quite picky but if we love it then we will keep watching: Netflix @£9.99: 2 tv shows, 4-5 films Apple TV+ @£4.99: 3 tv shows, 2 films Disney Plus @£7.99: 1 tv show, Loads of movies Amazon Prime @£7.99: 3 t…

Hulu (ad free) and HBO Max are easily the best services I have, these days. It's not even close. D+ is a bargain if you have kids and intend to let them watch any streaming at all. Apple TV only stays around because it's cheap and was free for quite a while initially. I've watched like two shows and a couple movies on it in the ~15 months I've had it. Probably ought to cancel, really. Netflix and Amazon (better catalog than Netflix but UI—on every platform—so bad that I rarely use it) are on my personal chopping block. I doubt I'll have either by next year.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#226

Post by rkk3 »

ericmay wrote: post #205
discardable_dan wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm about in your boat, except with HBO Max instead of Apple TV+ (their shows aren't as appealing to me). And as those numbers climb and I look at one to cut, Netflix is the easiest. That's the whole point, though: Netflix is going to be the service on the chopping block before these others.

Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you? If you dropped them on HBO I wouldn't know the difference. There are lots of different genres, great actors, and compelling stories. We have Netflix (via T-Mobile), Hulu, Prime, HBO, Disney+ and Apple TV. Some of these (Disney/Hulu) are from family or friends. WE only pay for Prime (probably the lowest quality of all of these) and Apple TV (because of Apple One…

> Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you?

Isn't this basically just asking why doesn't Ted Lasso appeal to you? I think the biggest problem is Apple doesn't have much of a catalog.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#227

Post by partiallypro »

discardable_dan wrote: post #2

I said this again recently, but it's worth repeating: Netflix is on the very fast downward slope. Their catalog is wilting, the space is heating up with well-established competitors moving in and serving the precise content that Netflix originally built their brand on, and their efforts to fund a new catalog with new IP (and taking ownership of old IP) is destroying the business model that made them so appealing in t…

I really struggle finding a lot of stuff on Netflix, but frankly I do on most all of them. I know that Netflix actually has a much larger catalogue than I'm seeing when I login but it's impossible to get to in order to find anything. Amazon Prime video is even worse at discoverability.

The thing is that Netflix has established itself as a staple and most no one is going to cancel it unless they are just hurting. Netflix knows that and has hiked prices to show it has market power. It's like Amazon Prime, I honestly don't order enough from Amazon to justify that expense each year but when I do use it, it's convient.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#228

Post by matco11 »

I think the fact that Netflix has been increasing prices faster just means they have had greater pricing power than cable cos. …and, arguably, if Apple, Disney, and the others hadn’t come to market, Netflix would have been raising prices even faster.

If you think how much you are currently paying for the “content” component of your cable subscription, that’s no surprise Netflix is finding that pricing power.

With the likes of LG and Samsung even making their own channel offering available for free (at least on mid/premium TV sets), if Netflix, HBO, Disney, Apple keep raising prices, I suspect the first thing consumers are going to want to do is to stop paying for content from cable cos. (and keep all the premium subscriptions)

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#229

Post by SomeHacker44 »

cableshaft wrote: post #217
michaelt wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Half the tentpole movies of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s were my niche, so it's not as though I'm a difficult audience. I know what you mean - but is that Hollywood, or is it us becoming grown-ups? I mean, it's possible all movies are aimed at the tastes of teenagers, and the reason Terminator 2 and Robocop and Die Hard seemed like great movies is because I saw them when I was a teenager. The innumerable superhero…

You had to choose those three movies as movies that only seemed great as a teenager? I'd argue they've aged better than a lot of movies from that time period and I'm pretty sure I don't hold the minority opinion there. Hell, I got tired of adults making nonstop jokes and references to watching Die Hard as a Christmas movie on Facebook just a month ago. Here's what I would consider a better list: https://screenrant.co…

Wait, Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie?? We watched it with our college age kids over the break as one. Sure seemed like a perfect Christmas movie to me, even redeeming a rocky marriage at the end.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#230

Post by Joeri »

inanutshellus wrote: post #192
redm wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised YouTube isn't on your list. We having streaming services, but my kids mostly watch YouTube.

Youtube is pretty magical. It has everything, even in the "kid zone". Which also means I can't leave them unsupervised for 30 minutes and come back. If I do, my kids will've gone from educational video about the rain forest to sponsored video to toy videos to slime to fart jokes to music videos of bikini-clad bimbos to steamy romance videos to ... Anyway it's just too much work to curate youtube for a child, IMO. For…

My kids couldn’t handle youtube. They would watch algorithmically created garbage (5yo) or endless game streaming (9yo) and be impossible to handle afterwards. First we did youtube time-outs, but every time we added it back into the mix we saw their behavior get worse, so eventually we banned youtube outright. Give me a curated platform like disney or netflix any day.
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