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Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

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Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#191

Post by LordLandon »

melvinram wrote: post #183
nirvdrum wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the HN crew wants DVDs to die. But none of my non-technical family has any problem with DVDs. They work in just about everything. They're easy to lend out. They're easy to find (both in stores and when sitting on a shelf in your house). For my part, I still prefer DVDs because I actually like owning the disc. But more than that, I have a 25 Mbps FiOS connection and somehow at least once a week when I'm streamin…

That's why I like iTunes, particularly now that they allow TV shows to be redownloaded so now I don't have to worry about using up a ton of space.

And what happens when Apple decides to (or is forced to) stop offering those shows for re-download? It's still a "licence" for you to be able to download them, not the same as physically owning a copy. (though slightly better, since you can just not delete the videos, and store them yourself)

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#192

Post by WalterBright »

arithmetic wrote: post #83
foobarbazoo wrote: post #62

Qwikster is a terrible name, and this is a terrible move. Hastings is now in competition with that guy running HP to see who can destroy their company first. Maybe Ballmer will get in the game and spin off Windows/Office from Microsoft, and rebrand them "Facetown", while proclaiming Bing to be the future of the company. Unbelievable. Update: I predict Qwikster is dead and buried within 5 years, and someone else pushe…

Netflix employee here. I've been reading all the comments here and at Reed's blog to understand what everyone has to say about the split. Internally, we've known about the split for some time now. Why do you think this is a terrible move? Your comment has a lot of unflattering comparisons, but doesn't explain why the move is stupid. Also, you're probably right that DVD as a service will not last forever, and Reed und…

Netflix is wrecking the huge advantage they have. Now it will be just another streaming company. Netflix has leveled the advantage it had, opening up huge opportunity for competitors.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#193

Post by aaronbrethorst »

pivotal wrote: post #189
Jun8 wrote: post #59

It seems I'm in the minority who thinks this is an over the top reaction to Wall Street pressure. It was clear for a number of years now that Netflix saw streaming as the future. But cutting off the DVD business like that... it's extreme. A lot of the movies are not available for streaming. Yes, their streaming portfolio is probably still the best (and has excellent children's content, my son watches it every night)…

Regarding the API, Netflix announced several months ago that the API was going stop supporting DVD options all together: http://techblog.netflix.com/2011/06/upcoming-changes-to-open... . This makes me wonder how long they knew that this split was coming, or if it is just a coincidence.

This was discussed in this thread last night. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3012244 ethank points out that the qwikster.com domain name was registered in May 2010.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#194

Post by jamesgeck0 »

bbgm wrote: post #46
learc83 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be limited if you only watch movies, but If you like, say...British detective shows, there's enough episodes to keep you busy for a while.

Or Dr. Who, or all seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager.

Until you want to watch the latest season of Doctor Who, which is currently available on DVD, but not on streaming.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#195

Post by nirvdrum »

superkinz wrote: post #50

People always go up in arms about change of price like this. For a long time, the prices at Netflix mostly stayed the same because they started with DVDs, and later added streaming. The streaming catalog wasn't built out enough for them to monetize it with confidence. So what did they do? They gave us a break and let us have free streaming. Now that it's a significant catalog, they want us to pay for the service... w…

They actually have been steadily raising prices. It's been really bad for those getting BRDs -- they've had 3 or 4 price increases. I think this is just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. We're getting no extra value for the increased price.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#196

Post by Bud »

recampbell wrote: post #179
frossie wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The attack surface for other companies has just doubled If anything, that is an underestimate. I really can't understand what they are thinking. Since I am interested in both DVD and streaming, up to now I was completely locked into Netflix because of the integrated system - my "Instant" queue is just the subset of my DVD queue that is streamable. If they break that link, and I derive no gain from being BOTH a Netfli…

What is there to stop me switching to Amazon or other competing streaming service tomorrow? The quality of those services compared to Netflix. Netflix realizes that they have to move quickly to cement their dominance in this field over the long term. If they are held back by their legacy business, they are going to die quickly. They would rather risk pissing off their biggest fans than jeopardize their stake in strea…

I just don't understand this argument. In what real, actual ways is Netflix plausibly "held back" by shipping DVDs to folks? And in what ways is this fixed by spinning that business off in such a way that the exact same people will now run that company?

Because it seems to me that this is a lose-lose proposition, for the reasons stated by the commenters above.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#197

Post by akat »

outside1234 wrote: post #24

what a terrible idea. the best part of Netflix is that it was integrated between DVD and streaming queues. dfm. how much does Amazon cost with Prime?

I too think its a terrible idea but, What a stupid question. (how much does Amazon cost with Prime?) I hope you realize that if you cannot figure out an answer to that questions in like 10 seconds yourself, you probably shouldn't be commenting things like companies pivoting.

(And an equally stupid answer. Prime is $79/year if you are not a (mom or a dad or a student))

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#198

Post by vital_sol »

arithmetic wrote: post #83
foobarbazoo wrote: post #62

Qwikster is a terrible name, and this is a terrible move. Hastings is now in competition with that guy running HP to see who can destroy their company first. Maybe Ballmer will get in the game and spin off Windows/Office from Microsoft, and rebrand them "Facetown", while proclaiming Bing to be the future of the company. Unbelievable. Update: I predict Qwikster is dead and buried within 5 years, and someone else pushe…

Netflix employee here. I've been reading all the comments here and at Reed's blog to understand what everyone has to say about the split. Internally, we've known about the split for some time now. Why do you think this is a terrible move? Your comment has a lot of unflattering comparisons, but doesn't explain why the move is stupid. Also, you're probably right that DVD as a service will not last forever, and Reed und…

I've been a Netflix customer for over 5 years. To me, Netflix is a company that does DVDs-by-mail well, and also trying to grow online streaming.

Online streaming as it is right now is a baby. It grows fast as every healthy baby does, but it can't be an adult yet as DVD business is. May be it will grow enough in the next few years, may be. So when Netflix announced separate price for DVDs and streaming, i cancelled streaming immediately, because it is not ready for me yet as a separate product I'm willing to pay for. It was good enough to have it as an addition, as a nice extra feature, but not good enough to pay extra.

So, in my opinion, there is (was?) one thing that Netflix is(was?) doing well, and now, what is this company doing anyway? What are their business? Oh, it's a video streaming over the internet, just like Hulu or Youtube?

I think Netflix just shot itself in the head.

Re: Netflix Splits DVD And Streaming Businesses

#200

Post by bradleyland »

maratd wrote: post #133
bradleyland wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding point 1. Netflix just created a huge discoverability problem. We ditched our streaming package and became a DVD-by-mail customer only. Not for lack of want or desire to be a streaming customer though. I'm just not all that crazy about paying their monthly fee for TV shows (I already have cable) and backlist DVD content. We like movies. I can't see how we're not a target customer, but I can't get most new re…

> I can't see how we're not a target customer > I already have cable Netflix is a direct competitor to cable. I don't have cable and I use their streaming platform exclusively. I am their target customer. They'll have a tough time convincing the older generation to ditch cable. They know that. So they're ditching you, instead. As things move along, you'll end up in the minority. At least, that's what Netflix is hopin…

I think you're probably right. I just found a website (feedfliks.com) that let's me see a lot of details about my Netflix usage. There are some pretty clear patterns there. Television shows, comedy specials, and the type of movie you'd typically see on TNT, FX, or AMC are available on Netflix Streaming. Theatrical release movies are not nearly as popular. So, you pretty much nailed it. Netflix wants to be Comcast. They don't appear to care much for their movie service customers.

As it turns out, I've been using giving Netflix money to be a company they don't want to be. Silly me.

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