Live data from Hacker News

Netflix is turning into cable TV

theverge.com

21–30 of 103 posts

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#21
post #17
post #6

This has been happening for years with the spawning of all these streaming services. At one point a lot of content was on Netflix but now it’s been bundled into the owners own streaming platform. So we’ve effectively went from cable tv to digital streaming freedom and almost back to square one.

Most of those owners are bleeding out, so to stanch the flow they are licensing their content to other companies like...netflix. It'll end up with a little oligarchy of a small number of streamers and then quality will plummet and ads will be unavoidable.

And pirate bay will once again be the place to go

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#22

I just want a 4K Originals Plan with 1 screen. Features: - Only Netflix Original content (in 4K) - 1 screen, since password sharing isn’t allowed anyways - No ads - No WWE - No smartphone games - No licensed content (which seems to be mostly 1080p anyways), since I can watch that elsewhere I will offer $14/mo, at most. Why should I be forced to pay for a bunch of stuff I don’t want or can’t use? This is why I don’t h…

We're experiencing a re-bundling, you'll have to wait for the next unbundling.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#24
post #9

Perhaps enshittification is like the capitalistic version of carcinization [0]. Stuff like TV or the music labels or the movie industry became the way they are because it has been proven to generate the most revenue. When a new service comes out after some time it naturally tends to gravitate to the proven strategies of money making which in turn makes it seem we are going "back to the cable days". [0] https://en.m.w…

Netflix's situation was unsustainable. We were getting content very cheaply because they were skirting a lot of agreements that made sure all the people in the process got paid. Most of big tech's innovation was just doing this: skirting laws and agreements and cutting people out of the gains. Also, companies initially allowed netflix to stream their assets because it was at first thought of as free money. Example: "…

Once upon a time streaming required the highest end hardware and software you could get your hands on. This meant that only a company (i.e. Netflix) that specialized in streamimg services could offer such expertise, thus if you wanted your content streamed you would sign an agreement with them.

Nowadays "streaming engineers" are a lot more available for building a company's streamimg platform and costs have gone down significantly so everyone is just ending the deals and getting back their stuff

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#25
post #18

Netflix produced some interesting original shows. Most of them got canceled after a single season, on a cliff-hanger. That got frustrating, so we stopped watching Netflix original shows. Then we stopped watching Netflix. Then we canceled Netflix.

You know it. I won't watch a Netflix series until the series finale. I don't need any more rugs pulled out from under me.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#26
post #18

Netflix produced some interesting original shows. Most of them got canceled after a single season, on a cliff-hanger. That got frustrating, so we stopped watching Netflix original shows. Then we stopped watching Netflix. Then we canceled Netflix.

Right? We just canceled Netflix after 15 years or so of subscription.

Their content discovery is garbage, their licensing decisions questionable, and their original content typically B- or C- grade.

Sure, I liked Sandman. But a light bulb flipped when I watched prime and saw maybe 60% of the content looked interested. Netflix was maybe 2%. Hulu near 25% without add-ons.

You want customer loyalty? Add a new season to recently canceled things, with extraordinarily high quality. That's what kept me engaged for several years!

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#27
post #7

It's not even doing a good job of that, though. The other day someone mentioned the 1990 movie "Taking Care of Business" with Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin. It's a pretty unremarkable movie, but I remembered liking it as a kid for whatever reason and wanted to see it again. Of course, it's not on any of the four streaming services I pay for (I'm outside the US so ymmv). And why? Why is the studio hoarding access to…

looks like its on Disney+ Canada, but agreed that is extremely limited given the age of the film:

https://disneyplus.com/movies/taking-care-of-business/1cZIoq...

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#28

I'll always have some sympathy for Netflix because they were effectively first. I remember waiting patiently for Netflix to arrive in Australia, and then as soon as it did arrive, a flood of competitors decided to "me too" into the party. They were too afraid to be first, so I've stuck with Netflix out of respect for their blazing the trail. The competitors such as Disney and Paramount have caused the enshittificatio…

They pivoted over ten years ago to literally “become HBO” and while that was a pretty weak vision, I think they succeeded.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#29

I just want a 4K Originals Plan with 1 screen. Features: - Only Netflix Original content (in 4K) - 1 screen, since password sharing isn’t allowed anyways - No ads - No WWE - No smartphone games - No licensed content (which seems to be mostly 1080p anyways), since I can watch that elsewhere I will offer $14/mo, at most. Why should I be forced to pay for a bunch of stuff I don’t want or can’t use? This is why I don’t h…

[flagged]

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#30

Perhaps enshittification is like the capitalistic version of carcinization [0]. Stuff like TV or the music labels or the movie industry became the way they are because it has been proven to generate the most revenue. When a new service comes out after some time it naturally tends to gravitate to the proven strategies of money making which in turn makes it seem we are going "back to the cable days". [0] https://en.m.w…

I saw a great piece about how every cable channel eventually ends up the same, even if originally specialised.

E.g.: Originally, MTV was the the MUSIC Television channel. Now it's reality TV and soap operas.

Post reply on HN