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Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

nytimes.com

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Re: Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

#6
post #2

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A company should be allowed the freedom to do what they want when it comes to selling their own product. Why would we want more laws restricting business?

What if the truth was, a one time payment to watch a show like House of Cards cost $100-$200? By offering a subscription they make it more accessible to more people (They let you cancel your Netflix subscription at any time)

Re: Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

#8
post #2

[deleted]

A company should be allowed the freedom to do what they want when it comes to selling their own product. Why would we want more laws restricting business? What if the truth was, a one time payment to watch a show like House of Cards cost $100-$200? By offering a subscription they make it more accessible to more people (They let you cancel your Netflix subscription at any time)

> Why would we want more laws restricting business?

Presumably because those laws would serve the public purpose.

Re: Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

#9
Seems like they're following in the footsteps of HBO, going from a distribution channel rebroadcasting others' content to being known primarily for their high quality original content.

I like where this is headed. The competition will be a boon for content consumers.

Re: Netflix Is Betting Its Future on Exclusive Programming

#10
When Netflix first started, they were able to buy the streaming rights to old movies and TV shows for cheap, because executives thought they weren't worth anything. Now those contracts are expiring, and the studios want to jack up the rates or start their own service.

Netflix is also getting squeezed by ISPs like Comcast, who want to charge them for the right to deliver video to Comcast's customers who already paid for their bandwidth.

So Netflix' only way to survive is to develop its own content. If it's dependent on other people to provide content, they'll jack up their prices to take Netflix' profit margins.

So now you have 5-10 competing services, and if you aren't paying attention, you don't know what shows are available on what service. Meanwhile, if you go to a file-sharing website, you can get every single show and movie. So Netflix (and its competitors) have less compelling of a value proposition, if you have to pay $10/month to several different services to get all the shows you might want to watch.

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