Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable • Hacker News Board

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#401

Post by Larrikin » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:32 PM UTC

drewg123 wrote: post #361

chollida1 wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why aren't Apple's shows (and movies?) appealing to you? What actual content do they have? I've seen a Beastie boys doc, Ted Lasso and The morning show * edited from Newsroom when my error was pointed out. That's a month's worth of content. What else do they have to justify continuing a subscription? Disney has more content with just the Simpson's episodes alone. Add on top of that the entire Marvel catalog, the en…

I enjoyed "For All Mankind", "See", and "The Invasion". I get it for free due to a laptop purchase. I'm not sure if I'll pay for it once that runs out..

Those are all good as well, but I'm sure the person you're replying to was unaware that they could watch them.

The UX of Apple TV+(which is a terrible name) is nothing but bait and switch. After my first week of using my free subscription I completely gave up on trying to browse on the app.

90% of the content I would click on would then ask me for 5 to twenty dollars to pay for it, which is ultimately just a rental until Apple decides they aren't interested in running a streaming service anymore. There's no indication it's pay until you're already excited to watch a show and click on it.

There are good shows on there now, but I only ever bother to open the app when I see an article listing best shows on streaming services and happen to see an Apple one. Sitting down to relax and just opening the app brings about nothing but frustration.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#402

Post by ethbr0 » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:32 PM UTC

bilater wrote: post #319

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…

Respectfully, this is a lazy take. If you even slightly dig into the numbers the price increase makes complete sense. Netflix spent 17 billion dollars on content last year. They are outspending competitors 2 to 1 if not more. Their catalog is thriving - you have big names like DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, The Rock etc signing on for movies. You have shows like Squid Game attracting ridiculou…

It's a lazy take because it underappreciates that Netflix saw this coming for the last ten+ years.

They made the switch from physical, mail-order rental to digital streaming when the average connection supported a streaming model.

But as soon as they switched from owning content (DVDs) to leasing it (limited time streaming rights), they saw the countdown until the content owners would eventually have an equivalent platform offering.

That's what kicked off the Netflix originals spend, and continues to drive their content creation spend today.

Netflix is 100% sober that (1) they need enough already-owned back-catalog to stay competitive & (2) they will never be in a stronger future financial position than they are today.

So it's literally "accumulate content or die."

And I'm not crediting them with foresight. It was abundantly clear to everyone that eventually the content owners would see {cost of developing platform} It was only a question of how long it would take the legacy companies to random stumble into a viable offering.

---

The more timely question is "What is Netflix's edge, once they've finished becoming a traditional content producer?"

Because from the last few years of hits and misses, they don't seem particularly better than HBO or Amazon Studios at picking winners.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#403

Post by cestith » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:36 PM UTC

fluidcruft wrote: post #214

UnpossibleJim wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking of global, I have noticed that Netflix is one of the few who offers a variety of non-English/American targeted shows. There are quite a few Indian, Mandarin and Latino focused programs in their lineup, which I haven't seen on the other channels (except for HBO en Español). Could it be that Netflix has seen that they can't compete in a crowded market with "the big boys" (though their bank share might disagree…

Yes, for example I like that Netflix has a variety of French and German shows.

I really enjoyed How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) in dub+sub. Planning to rewatch it in the original German with subtitles.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#404

Post by ethbr0 » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:38 PM UTC

andrew_ wrote: post #333

tomjen3 wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The benefit of Netflix was that you could binge 7 seasons of a show you didn't get to see back when it was new, for whatever reason. They have to heavily promote their own content and often there are only one or two "seasons", where a season is only about 10 episodes. In short they may be spending a ton on content, but so does all the others and while I do pay for Netflix, I continually wonder if I should just cancel…

That and they used to have an excellent catalog of movies. I haven't watched a full length feature film on Netflix in almost year, because all of it is such garbage. Prime Video has a better movie catalog than Netflix now. My kids very occasionally watch something on Netflix Kids, but that's not even compelling these days. It's a running joke in the household that my spouse will spend an hour trying to find something…

Netflix absolutely needs to deal with shitty content for the same reason that Amazon needs to deal with fakes or crap: it's an existential threat to their brand.

Being Walmart doesn't work in a digital space, because you can't starve the business out from the physical neighborhood around you to prevent competition.

And once people get it in their heads that "All movies on Netflix are trash" or "All stuff on Amazon is trash," you have a much bigger problem.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#405

Post by ethbr0 » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:45 PM UTC

FalconSensei wrote: post #266

UnpossibleJim wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking of global, I have noticed that Netflix is one of the few who offers a variety of non-English/American targeted shows. There are quite a few Indian, Mandarin and Latino focused programs in their lineup, which I haven't seen on the other channels (except for HBO en Español). Could it be that Netflix has seen that they can't compete in a crowded market with "the big boys" (though their bank share might disagree…

> Speaking of global, I have noticed that Netflix is one of the few who offers a variety of non-English/American targeted shows. That's something I love about Netflix. Watching German, Russian, Spanish, Danish TV shows is really cool for change

Agreed! La casa de papel (aka Money Heist) and Dark were both super enjoyable.

Do you watch anything particular in Russian or Danish?

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#406

Post by JohnJamesRambo » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 8:50 PM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #302

Taywee wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about the outcome of a generation that watched nothing but reality TV, Fear Factor, and prank shows? Not disagreeing with you entirely, but I don't think it's scary, because it's nothing new to have swaths of people exclusively consuming low-quality junk.

TV that's purely entertaining has been around forever. I laugh at the Three Stooges, but I wouldn't call it "high quality."

The Three Stooges know they are stupid and are in on the joke and so is the viewer. Most of the top 10 don’t acknowledge it and the viewer is the joke. There’s a big difference.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#407

Post by drewg123 » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 9:01 PM UTC

Larrikin wrote: post #401

drewg123 wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I enjoyed "For All Mankind", "See", and "The Invasion". I get it for free due to a laptop purchase. I'm not sure if I'll pay for it once that runs out..

Those are all good as well, but I'm sure the person you're replying to was unaware that they could watch them. The UX of Apple TV+(which is a terrible name) is nothing but bait and switch. After my first week of using my free subscription I completely gave up on trying to browse on the app. 90% of the content I would click on would then ask me for 5 to twenty dollars to pay for it, which is ultimately just a rental u…

I agree, the app is horrifically bad. Its hard to find the included content, it takes a long time for it to bring up the description of the video, the play delay is terrible, and it has smooth fast forward/rewind which I personally despise.

The only thing that makes it worth dealing with is the excellent content. Oh, and the fact that I can generally download something quickly to watch on a plane after boarding but before takeoff, since T-Mobile throttles Netflix, but apparently not AppleTV.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#408

Post by cosmojg » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 9:07 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #215

mgkimsal wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The halo effect that "Netflix Original" used to have thanks to shows like House of Cards... It wasn't even 'original' in that it was a UK series years earlier. I understand they made changes, and, IIRC, milked it for a lot more than the UK series. But that wasn't... "original". Good original series though. There's likely more good UK stuff Netflix could mine.

We talkin Peaky Blinders and The Last Kingdom? Anything else?

I would love if Netflix picked up Utopia[1], and given current events, now would be a very interesting time to do so.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(British_TV_series)

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#409

Post by analyte123 » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 9:09 PM UTC

OskarS wrote: post #83

slibhb wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I can tell they've succeeded at becoming HBO. I admire how the company has evolved over the years. It's cool that they distribute (and sometimes fund) movies made by excellent directors (Coens, Scorsese, Sorrentino). It does seem like a precarious business model: they have to keep picking or making winners but so far they're doing well.

> As far as I can tell they've succeeded at becoming HBO. Have they? Have they really? As far as I can tell, nothing that Netflix has ever done in-house has ever come close to the best of the cable channels. Like, The Witcher is fine, but Game of Thrones it is not, neither in quality nor buzz/cultural significance. House of Cards is no Succession and Ozark is no Breaking Bad. Nothing they have could even come close t…

Nothing will have the sort of cultural impact you're talking about ever again. There's too much content, platforms and viewers are both fragmented, and viewing habits have radically changed.

Re: Netflix’s Prices Are Rising Faster Than Cable

#410

Post by mandmandam » Mon, Jan 17, 2022, 9:16 PM UTC

SllX wrote: post #377

mandmandam wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What the actual fuuuck. Tried searching just a dot and I got a fish cutting video, an indian woman being slapped around, and some creepy horror doll shit.

Seems you got further than I did. I scrolled through and decided “there be dragons” and left it at that. There’s an audience for everything but I am not the audience for everything.

Not even - those were my top results.

Yeah I noped tf out pretty quick too. This isn't even the first time I've seen crazy shit about YT - these parents are 100% right not to let their kids on unsupervised. Weird how it's not news more often tbh.