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Netflix Long Term View

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Re: Netflix Long Term View

#161

Post by 7952 »

jader201 wrote: post #39

Maybe it's just me. But one thing about linear (live) broadcasts -- and this also applies to an extent to live radio vs. mp3's -- is that there is just something engaging about watching a program that you know other people, at that moment, are also watching. It's also missed when watching a show that you DVR'ed, after the fact -- like the series finale to Lost, or the Super Bowl. If/when live broadcasts are completel…

With BBC Iplayer you can watch live content as it is broadcast, but also rewind to the start and watch form the beginning. I regularly watch shows on the night they are broadcast and enjoy the live aspect, but don't have to stick perfectly to a schedule. This approach makes me much more likely to watch BBC content at that "decision point".

I would love NetFlix to invest in semi-live programs like news and current affairs. So that I could turn on the TV and start watching the news from the beginning instead of midway through a banal rolling program. You would get the sense of engagement of a live show without having to timetable your life.

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#162

Post by 7952 »

jader201 wrote: post #39

Maybe it's just me. But one thing about linear (live) broadcasts -- and this also applies to an extent to live radio vs. mp3's -- is that there is just something engaging about watching a program that you know other people, at that moment, are also watching. It's also missed when watching a show that you DVR'ed, after the fact -- like the series finale to Lost, or the Super Bowl. If/when live broadcasts are completel…

With BBC Iplayer you can watch live content as it is broadcast, but also rewind to the start and watch form the beginning. I regularly watch shows on the night they are broadcast and enjoy the live aspect, but don't have to stick perfectly to a schedule. I think this is an approach that is often missed and is

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#163

Post by bluebook »

This was interesting positioning from Netflix: We don’t and can’t compete on breadth of entertainment with Comcast, Sky, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Sony, or Google. For us to be hugely successful we have to be a focused passion brand. Starbucks, not 7-Eleven. Southwest, not United. HBO, not Dish.

Netflix is phasing out its DVD business over the next couple of years to focus on domestic and international streaming. International is where penetration is pretty low and they're targeting 15-16% penetration of broadband households over five years from its current 3%.

In the last few quarters they've outperformed their own subscriber growth forecasts on the international side with country launches in France, Germany underway. The share price has jumped each time. Other markets they are likely to cover Italy, Spain, OZ & NZ. Massive markets like India, China, Russia and Japan really unlikely for the medium term at least with piracy, strong local incumbents and lower purchasing power.

It's just made $270m in profits in December 2014, after 10 years of losses from IPO to 2012 and secured a $500m loan with $1.1 billion cash so it is only now becoming financially sustainable. I assume they are getting better at creating own original content and thought Marco Polo was pretty good, might be on my own there though. I think the future is bright though opening in each new country and having to license content in them way in advance means lots of upfront costs in unfamilar locations. Should be a long slog but they're on the right track as a focused, passion brand.

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#164

Post by kriro »

Interesting read. I think they are slightly underestimating Amazon as a competitor. They mention them but from my point of view the edge that Netflix has is good engineering (including usability) and being attractive to good engineers. A somewhat random small, recent example is the fact that they were at reactconf, talking about interesting stuff (targeting non-DOM) and showing involvement in "hot" technology.

That's an edge that HBO has a really hard time catching up to but Amazon doesn't. I think Netflix is putting a bit too much focus on the content side. It also reads a bit like they'll shift a bit more from customer to business partner focus which may or may not be a good idea.

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#165

Post by addicted44 »

rogerbinns wrote: post #37

Am I the only one who finds finding something on Netflix to watch increasingly difficult, and contradictory to what they say in that piece. My experience is mostly using Roku (a spinoff from Netflix) and Android. For example if I watch a WWII documentary, then they feel the need to recommend every one they have, for a long time. Oh and "watch" means "seen more than a second or two of", so you get all this crud even i…

The Netflix experience seems to have become increasingly user hostile.

No Netflix, I don't want to watch Marco Polo. Wait what? You "updated" the XBox One app and now I have to give voice commands such as "Watch Item 1" instead of "Watch Arrested Development"? How is it that everything you recommend to me these days, unlike in the past, reflects popularity more than my preferences?

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#166

Post by merrua »

Netflix europe has terrible descriptions of the films/shows which you may as well ignore. Also their catalog really isn't that impressive. It would be rather easy to replace it if anyone tried.

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#167

Post by merrua »

MichaelGG wrote: post #92
solutionyogi wrote: post #4

Winning moments of truth We strive to win more of our members’ “moments of truth”. Those decision points are, say, at 7:15 pm when a member wants to relax, enjoy a shared experience with friends and family, or is bored. They could play a video game, surf the web, read a magazine, channel surf their MVPD/DVR system, buy a pay-per-view movie, put on a DVD, use a piracy service, turn on Hulu, or launch Netflix. We want…

Hah! Countless times I open up Netflix, scroll through endless lists of garbage, that even Netflix suggests I will rate 2 stars, then give up. On the Android app, "My List" doesn't appear to work. I used to pay for Netflix literally for recommendations (had a DVD-only sub, never queued DVDs). A good recommendation engine is easily worth $10/month for me. Oh, then I finally pick something. And it starts, playing with…

Their subtitle and language selection is really rather poor.

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#168

Post by bazzargh »

sandworm wrote: post #140
mxfh wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's accessing the internet from a different IP, not a different location, the whole idea of an IP (without additional information) being equivalent with a proof of physical location will most likely not hold up as a legal concept in a higher court. So called geo-fencing by IP only is fuzzy by definition. The copy is licensed since it's made available by the distributor to the customer. It's the distributors duty to…

First sale doesn't apply because you are purchasing a "license" not a "copy". Licenses are essentially contracts through which parties can create all sorts of restrictions that wouldn't apply to copies. Top of the list are restrictions on selling the license to others, ie non-transferability. The problem with Netflix really starts long before the consumer. With something like Black Books, which predates the netflix c…

The original creator of Black Books was Channel 4, not the BBC. BBC Worldwide (a for-profit subsidiary of the BBC) does license shows to other markets on behalf of more than just the BBC, though - I expect if you're watching it outside the UK their logo will be on it.

BTW, not that it helps you...but Black Books is currently on UK Netflix. http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70157495?trkid=13462100

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#169

Post by [deleted] »

ctdonath wrote: post #21

This is a huge shift for Netflix. Until recently, the motivating impression was that Netflix just plain had every movie out there (which its continuing DVD service kinda does). I subscribed because it was a cheap replacement for buying anything I wanted to see: they had everything I wanted and could want. My to-watch list was very long, and I thought it would remain. Now, studios and competitors are making that model…

[deleted]

Re: Netflix Long Term View

#170

Post by cheriot »

I'm building lazyfan[1] precisely because of how fragmented availability has become. Even when you want to pay to stream a specific movie, it might be available from iTunes, but not Amazon or vice versa. But you don't want to pay for something you have so you have to check Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Forget comparison shopping, it's tough to even know what's for sale.

[1] http://www.lazyfan.com (beta)(a movie trailer autoplays)

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