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Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#61

Post by thaway2839 »

gpmcadam wrote: post #36
uxcolumbo wrote: post #6

For me, Netflix needs higher quality content. More creative risky shows like the OA, Altered Carbon, Love, Death & Robots, Black Mirror and more old HBO style content… quality vs factory cookie cutter produced stuff trying to satisfy the lowest common denominator, because then you will satisfy no one. Maybe they have good shows I just don't know about. Their recommendation system seems to be crap. I browse for 20 min…

I'm assuming by 'Dark Mirror' you mean 'Black Mirror', and not 'Dark'? Well, Black Mirror was actually created by Charlie Brooker and his production company Endemol for Channel 4 in the UK and simply bought by Netflix once it was already a hit. Part of the issue is that many of what Netflix calls "Originals" are the opposite of that and I think it can be confusing for viewers when you throw them into the same bucket…

Good point. A lot of the best Netflix content is stuff they've bought from the UK that they rebrand as "Netflix Original" in the US.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#62

Post by nervousvarun »

3333333331 wrote: post #40

One of the things that goes unmentioned in these articles is the absolutely horrible UX in the app--why does every movie I consider have to start playing at 110dB as soon as I browse to it? I have to steel myself to open the AppleTV app (or mute my TV) to browse through their collection. Then there's the horrid algorithmically-generated posters for each movie...

It's unbelievably terrible. But the default behavior can be changed.

https://techwiser.com/how-to-turn-off-autoplay-on-netflix/

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#63

Post by merricksb »

Covered directly or indirectly in these articles in the past 24 hours:

Netflix loses subscribers for the first time in 10+ years (cnbc.com) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31088353 - 218 points - 16 hours ago – 333 comments

Netflix Officially Adding Commercials (popculture.com) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092126 - 54 points - 10 hours ago - 50 comments

Netflix shares drop 26% after it loses 200K subscribers (apnews.com) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31089802 - 44 points - 14 hours ago - 25 comments

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#64

Post by AnssiH »

lemoncookiechip wrote: post #24

They're losing subscribers, because of multiple reasons, most of which are their own fault: - Subscription prices keep rising, and they were already very high. - Libraries decreasing as they lose the licensing to other streaming services. - Originals are hit and miss, mostly miss, and get cancelled constantly after 1 season. - Crackdown on VPN and password sharing. - COVID lockdowns are mostly over in Europe, US and…

In this Q1, they lost 700k subscribers in Russia. Without that they would have had positive growth.

From shareholder letter PDF: https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2022/q1...

> The suspension of our service in Russia and winding-down of all Russian paid memberships resulted in a -0.7m impact on paid net adds; excluding this impact, paid net additions totaled +0.5m.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#66

Post by gwd »

nfRfqX5n wrote: post #59
3333333331 wrote: post #40

One of the things that goes unmentioned in these articles is the absolutely horrible UX in the app--why does every movie I consider have to start playing at 110dB as soon as I browse to it? I have to steel myself to open the AppleTV app (or mute my TV) to browse through their collection. Then there's the horrid algorithmically-generated posters for each movie...

Netflix UX is not perfect but it’s probably the best in the business

Yeah, I thought browsing / discoverability on Netflix was terrible until I tried to use Apple TV+; just like I thought the UI on Apple's Music app was terrible until I tried to use Spotify. Why do modern media companies seem to try to compete for the interface which makes it hardest to find and consume their media?

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#67

Post by ghaff »

Freak_NL wrote: post #47
BaculumMeumEst wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I understand how you think this is an "industry self-own", or why you find it hilarious. Presumably, these companies are taking this approach because they realized they stand to make more money by creating their own streaming service and leveraging their catalogs than outsourcing them. Those that stay in business are presumably making quite a lot of money. The only people getting "owned" here are consume…

It's clever too. There are some more tech-minded and risk-aware folk who can turn to copyright infringement via torrents, but those are a negligible minority. The days of widespread 'piracy' practices by every next household are long gone. There are some who can manage cleverly hopping from subscription to subscription to get varying content (three months Netflix, then three months Disney+, etc.), but those too are t…

Pretty much describes me. I get a handful of services. It's more content than I remotely have time to watch. I can't really be bothered spending more or chasing down torrents for some other random show; it's just not really something I care enough about. Would a single streaming service be better? Probably. But I wouldn't pay a premium for it. After all, I dropped cable entirely and while I'd like real-time TV now and then, that like isn't enough for me to pay for it.

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#68

Post by scarface74 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #56
lemoncookiechip wrote: post #24

They're losing subscribers, because of multiple reasons, most of which are their own fault: - Subscription prices keep rising, and they were already very high. - Libraries decreasing as they lose the licensing to other streaming services. - Originals are hit and miss, mostly miss, and get cancelled constantly after 1 season. - Crackdown on VPN and password sharing. - COVID lockdowns are mostly over in Europe, US and…

> Originals are hit and miss, mostly miss, and get cancelled constantly after 1 season. The latter thing is precisely what causes the most "misses". Hard to get invested even despite minor issues when you know it will get cancelled anyway. Also means no one will produce or buy merch aside from coffee mugs, further cutting into profits. > Libraries outside the US are a fraction of the size of the US library, some legi…

I wonder how many people on HN would be okay if the government forced open software to be licensed for use in a way that was contrary to the way that authors wanted?

Would regulation also set prices for how much license holders can charge? Should the latest Marvel movie be licensed for the same amount as an indy film?

Re: Netflix hints at password sharing crackdown as subscribers fall

#69

Post by atomicfiredoll »

lemoncookiechip wrote: post #24

They're losing subscribers, because of multiple reasons, most of which are their own fault: - Subscription prices keep rising, and they were already very high. - Libraries decreasing as they lose the licensing to other streaming services. - Originals are hit and miss, mostly miss, and get cancelled constantly after 1 season. - Crackdown on VPN and password sharing. - COVID lockdowns are mostly over in Europe, US and…

This is good list. I'd also call out the common complaints I see about the recommendations.

Further, it seems like there are a number of people unhappy with the homepage UI, which may be tangentially associated to recommendations. When the same things keep getting recommended in multiple categories for several months, it gives the impression the library is even smaller than it actually is.

Personally, in terms of UI, especially regarding player functionality, I would take Netflix over Hulu and HBO Max every time. But, I am slightly bitter about them replacing the 5 star rating system with a two star system and now a 3 star system.

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