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Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

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Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#111
post #8

Total anecdote: Kinda sucks when shows leave Netflix and don't get replaced; half the appeal of Netflix is the ability to quickly switch between Futurama and Always Sunny, and more importantly to be able to watch those shows on a platform that doesn't completely suck (FX's app has got to be one of the worst apps I've ever used). When "Parts Unknown" was about to leave Netflix, I really questioned whether it was worth…

Adding my own anecdote: I cancelled Netflix a while ago, I hadn't been watching it for a while but assumed the rest of my family was. Eventually got around to asking them and it turned out they hadn't used it in a while either. Turns out we all just kinda lost interest. I remember when streaming first came out I was excited to "see what's on streaming," it felt like so much content to explore. Then it gradually becam…

Almost in the exact same situation here. I've switched to audiobooks before bed. I've started sleeping much better too.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#112
post #8

Total anecdote: Kinda sucks when shows leave Netflix and don't get replaced; half the appeal of Netflix is the ability to quickly switch between Futurama and Always Sunny, and more importantly to be able to watch those shows on a platform that doesn't completely suck (FX's app has got to be one of the worst apps I've ever used). When "Parts Unknown" was about to leave Netflix, I really questioned whether it was worth…

Similar to you. All the shows I used to watch on it were gone or I'd already seen everything I could find worth watching. I canceled netflix about 2 years ago after being with them long before they ever did their streaming beta. I thought I'd just not subscribe for about a year and come back when they had made a bunch of new content. The bits and pieces I've seen or what I overhear about that content hasn't been very enticing.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#113
post #8

Total anecdote: Kinda sucks when shows leave Netflix and don't get replaced; half the appeal of Netflix is the ability to quickly switch between Futurama and Always Sunny, and more importantly to be able to watch those shows on a platform that doesn't completely suck (FX's app has got to be one of the worst apps I've ever used). When "Parts Unknown" was about to leave Netflix, I really questioned whether it was worth…

Another anecdote: I’d have cancelled Netflix a while ago if my family wasn’t using it. Their UX has been on a steady decline for me: - Audio previews make it so I never want to browse for what to watch next. I hate having to fumble with my tv/home theatre remote because of this. - If you leave it hanging, the previews count towards a watch! Wow. God help you if you wanna make some popcorn. - Their sorts are always sh…

> I’ve talked to some of their UX designers, and data seems to rule all there, so they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing if it didn’t help them.

They wouldn't be doing what they're doing if it didn't help them in the short term.

Data is great but you never have a perfect picture. What boosts your numbers in the short term could be the thing that makes your customers resent you and move on in the long term.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#114
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another anecdote: I’d have cancelled Netflix a while ago if my family wasn’t using it. Their UX has been on a steady decline for me: - Audio previews make it so I never want to browse for what to watch next. I hate having to fumble with my tv/home theatre remote because of this. - If you leave it hanging, the previews count towards a watch! Wow. God help you if you wanna make some popcorn. - Their sorts are always sh…

> no way to turn off captions for some of their shows There are all sorts of inconsistencies with subtitles and dubbing. For example, suppose a show has options for 5 languages, but not Portuguese. If you switch your profile to Portuguese (i.e., by logging to the Netflix website and selecting Portuguese as your main language), then lo and behold Portuguese appears as a choice for subtitles and audio for many shows wh…

English subtitles often don’t match the spoken dialogue for shows in English either. They are often simplified, probably for space and time constraints. I assume that the primary intended audience is the hearing impaired, not language learners.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#115
post #16

When Disney will launch their streaming service in late 2019, Netflix will be in deep trouble. If Disney is allowed to aquire Fox, they will have such a massive (and exclusive) catalogue, that Netflix will simply be too expensive. Netflix Originals are not too bad but also not exceedingly good and I personally wouldn't pay 11€/mo for them.

Disney will also own Hotstar if the deal goes through which is currently one of the most popular streaming service in India.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#116
post #16

When Disney will launch their streaming service in late 2019, Netflix will be in deep trouble. If Disney is allowed to aquire Fox, they will have such a massive (and exclusive) catalogue, that Netflix will simply be too expensive. Netflix Originals are not too bad but also not exceedingly good and I personally wouldn't pay 11€/mo for them.

I'm betting Disney messes it up. They will be too married to legacy revenue streams in DVD + Cable TV to really make their service worthwhile and eat into Netflix's market share with an incredible deal for consumers.

They're also too obsessed with control and exclusivity. See their practice of "vaulting" movies so they can re-release them every 10 years. It's basically the opposite market strategy of streaming services that live on the long tail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#117

An interesting question for me is whether Netflix will also experience a wave of talent departures as an additional result of this stock plunge. Netflix is competing for talent as a FAANG outfit, and as such much of the value they provide to their employees depends on their RSUs. This works great as long as stock price is on a steep rise, as has generally been the case for FAANG over the past several years. Now that…

Netflix doesn't force employees to take RSUs. Every employee has the option to take anywhere from 0-100% of their compensation in cash. [1] This was also my experience.

1. https://www.quora.com/How-does-Netflix-compensate-its-employ...

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#118
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HBO also has Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, John Oliver, good documentaries from time to time...

HBO is double the price and once you get through the best 15 series content is thin. Netflix has so much variety coming out daily.

HBO Now is so weird. I subscribed for a couple of months to watch Game of Thrones and Westworld. I figured I might as well check out the rest of the service too. HBO has many decades of original content right? There should be tons of stuff to watch on there, but I could find barely anything. It was just a light crust of the most current shows, whatever movies they were currently licensing, and a few crumbs from the back catalog.

I ended up dropping the subscription because I'd watched everything interesting on the service in no time flat. I could have been watching Tales from the Crypt for months, but it wasn't available at all. Where is the Rey Bradbury theater? Shows I'd heard about growing up but only got to see briefly in a hotel room on a trip. For a service nearly twice as expensive as Netflix they made seemingly no effort to keep me engaged.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#119
post #14

I hardly ever watched TV, but found myself binge watching Netflix. The on-demand model is so much cleaner than regular TV where you have advertisements being shown for almost 1/3 of the time. In fact, I liked Netflix so much that I cancelled it because it was becoming a distraction. If I have kids they definitely will not have access to any such thing, and I feel sorry for the kids growing up with it today.

I get where you’re coming from but self control is an important thing to teach children. If your version of self control is fully disconnecting, I understand that but it doesn’t mean you should feel sorry for kids that have access to Netflix. (Speaking as a 21 year old who spent a number of years of my childhood watching Netflix with my family)

I'm also in my early 20's.

I think children are by nature more impulsive, and if they have access to Netflix at a young age without enough parental restrictions they might start down a bad path. When they're older it's easier to contain.

That's part of the reason for age restrictions on drugs/alcohol. Some drugs aren't all that different from dopamine inducing digital stimuli. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self control, isn't fully developed until age 25.

Re: Netflix shares decline after reporting disappointing subscriber growth

#120

What happened is streaming tech isn't niche to Netflix anymore. It became good enough for HBO and Showtime etc etc of course Amazon so now you have a plethora of stuff to watch and Netflix isn't the only game in town but they will always be the original innovator. I hope they can innovate more and do something fantastic.

Game is only going to get tighter too. Now you have sports moving into the streaming era, Disney launching something soon, etc.

The time of even more fragmented streaming offerings (and more selection) is soon.

Comcast is an interesting study here too. They are pushing ip based linear TV hard right now. I don't like the company, but they seem to know what they are doing.

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