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Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

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Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#181
post #28

Netflix really had a value proposition a few years ago before all the other players came in. A good selection of rotating movies and shows, sharing accounts with a good model (# of simultaneously running screens). This was way better than cable TV and more convenient than torrent. Now it’s mostly quite mediocre content across services that easily cost $100+ a month, so we’re back to the old cable days in terms of cos…

I ditched my Netflix suscription and have found a much better replacement combo:

- Criterion Channel for the good stuff (cheaper than Netflix, too.)

- Tubi for guilty crap... and some good movies here and there too (ad-supported.)

For a while I tried Mubi but it was clear I'm not the target audience. I was watching 1-2 movies a month, tops.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#182

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The idea that Netflix is failing because of identity politics is just ridiculous and doesn’t hold up to even the slightest examination. It’s just another reactionary talking point that feels right enough for people to not examine it.

Case in point, Dave Chappelle's stand-up. He doesn't say what you're supposed to say about certain subjects, leading to outrage and calls to take down the show, yet it's still up. Were Netflix that left-leaning, that show would already be gone from their catalog.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#183
post #138

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Netflix also makes it super hard to find content and according to a recent Hollywood Reporter article the forces within Netflix that pushed for more middling, cheaper content over high quality content won. I think it shows. Really high quality content is imo more likely to appeal even to people who usually prefer a different genre. Netflix used to have that on the form of shows like House of Cards and even recently h…

Queens Gambit was a miniseries adapted from a book. You need a LOT of those to compete with full multi-season series.

Luckily there are a lot of books.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#184
post #165
post #143

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> and no good movie Netflix has made in years That is very subjective. My wife and I really liked The power of the dog. And I am sure there are more. Also subjective: watching Netflix every day (I do not) will end up in watching below par stuff. No service will be able to produce that much high quality content for everybody’s taste.

It was a good movie, but not a great movie. I would be surprised if you would rate that movie in top 20 for the last decade.

You are implying netflix needs to offer a ‘ movie in top 20 for the last decade’ every week or so. You will indeed get very disappointed by all streaming services.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#185
post #177

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Oh please. They said that isn’t why. Anyone seen Shameless? Seasons 1-9 featured loads of gay and trans characters and plots, and they were superb. Seasons 10.5-11 were unironically woke garbage, and I had to abandon it midway into 11. I actually could not stand it anymore. The in your face preachy wokeness.

[flagged]

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#186
post #169

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While it is a valid point, Id argue that Netflix could have survived this - they had billions of dollars to create original content, and then they did create it, but some how screwed it all up. There’s at best 1 or 2 good show and no good movie Netflix has made in years. And anything half decent they cancel mercilessly without giving it a chance. This is not just in the US. The comparison of original content quality…

> they had billions of dollars to create original content they had the wrong idea that original content is their strong point. It's not. It's disney's strong point. Netflix should've used their dominant position to lobby for new rules to the game - prevent exclusivity of content! They should've lobbied gov't to mandate that studio productions of content be permanently untied to a streaming service, and be available t…

Netflix failed precisely because it's a tech company at its core. It can't outlobby the copyright industry, because it lacks the experience, the goodwill, and the political connections. And the celebrities supporting its goals. If Netflix wants to be successful in the entertainment industry, it must act like an entertainment company and give more power to the producers and the creatives.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#187
post #179

> “Two hundred million was a fairly easy climb,” one industry vet who works at a streamer told me Wednesday. Yeah fuck you. I am a Netflix subscriber with little to no love for the company. The algorithm fails for me and I detest the user interface. If Netflix disappeared tomorrow my life would be barely affected. But getting 200 million subscribers to anything, much less a paid service, is a massive achievement. If…

The article makes some good arguments elsewhere, but this is one of its weaker points. There's no explanation of why 200 million is "fairly easy" while 300 million is "hard". If Netflix was at 300 million today, the magic "hard" number would be 400 million, and 300 would have been the "easy" number.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#188
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it is a valid point, Id argue that Netflix could have survived this - they had billions of dollars to create original content, and then they did create it, but some how screwed it all up. There’s at best 1 or 2 good show and no good movie Netflix has made in years. And anything half decent they cancel mercilessly without giving it a chance. This is not just in the US. The comparison of original content quality…

> they had billions of dollars to create original content they had the wrong idea that original content is their strong point. It's not. It's disney's strong point. Netflix should've used their dominant position to lobby for new rules to the game - prevent exclusivity of content! They should've lobbied gov't to mandate that studio productions of content be permanently untied to a streaming service, and be available t…

Totally agree. If streaming video could get the same terms as streaming audio/radio (standardized mandatory licensing fees) and services could compete on encoding (cost efficiency on their end) and UI/UX (which Netflix is... not great) that would be an entirely different ballgame.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#189
post #16

So the problem with media conglomerates (including big studios) is they want predictable returns. More specifically, they want a formula. Let me introduce you to Save the Cat [1]. This book has become so influential that you can read this book and then watch pretty much any movie and you'll be able to tick off everything in the movie to this structure. It's why studios love sequels and franchises. They have a built-i…

I would add that "a formula" doesn't mean it's bad. I regularly drank beer since like when I was 14 until when I was like 35 or something? I do it way less now but still sometimes drink beer. My favorite style changes. Sometime I just drink a new one because like dopamine hits and I get excited about the potential novelty and discovery. But it's beer, and I think there's nothing wrong with it. From bud light to like…

> From bud light to like whatever quadruppel or super IPA monstrosity someone in the Bay Area decided to brew and that may work as an antiseptic

On this note, Pliny the Elder (the highest rated IPA in the Bay Area) used to be hard to find but recently is just everywhere, and it turns out it tastes horrible. But it’s like single-origin horrible. Like drinking the highest quality grass clippings.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#190

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> Get woke. Go broke. This has literally never actually happened to anyone. (Black Rifle Coffee just took a $4B writedown, so the opposite seems like more of a bad strategy.)

You're not actually serious?

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-examples-that-support-th...

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