271–280 of 289 posts
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I think you are underestimating the value of being present on the platform that is Apple. I basically only created my Netflix subscription (which I cancelled by now) because it was super easy to sign up on my Apple TV. I probably wouldn't have bothered to do so on a PC.
I just don't understand why netflix couldn't charge someone like you more.
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Are you sure about game subscriptions? They don’t require Blizzard to use IAP for their MMO related apps. These could do a few in game actions, so there is some flexibility.
Are those Blizzard apps on iOS, or on the Mac? As far as I know, on iOS, you have to offer in-app purchases for subscriptions, unless you meet specific criteria -- you may be able to offer subscriptions outside IAP in addition, but you need to let people buy in the app. (On the Mac, though, none of this really applies.)
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> I just don't think it will affect the market much. In a weird way, I think Apple and Google proved it would have significant impact, at least enough for them to put sizable effort in stopping it from happening. Otherwise Apple wouldn't be fighting tooth and nails to keep it at bay. Google also went pretty great length, through bundled contracts, backroom deals and scaremongering to dissuade partners and users from…
proves it both ways, does it not? I mean, I agree that if Apple abandoned trying to control app delivery it would be a big deal. I just don't think a simple rule gets us there.
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The Netflix app is especially bad about this. At least on my prior-gen 4K ATV, do a search in the Netflix app and you'll never get out of the search menu. Menu button does nothing, select one of the items in search does nothing because as soon as you Menu out of it, you're back to the unescapable search screen. The only way out is to kill the Netflix app. (This might have been fixed, haven't watched anything on Netfl…
I simply want Netflix results to be included in the main AppleTV search. I have seen some results give an “Open In” choice for Netflix, but selecting that simply opens the Netflix app at the “Home” screen. It’s also quite rare. I think I have only encountered ite once or twice. Most results for movies and shows that are only available in Netflix, come up as “Rent or Buy.” Shows and movies exclusive to Netflix don’t s…
I saw some blurb when Apple was introducing "Up Next", or whatever that ATV integration is, and Netflix reportedly was having no part of it. So I imagine that whatever drives that whole integration probably drives search and other details.
Regardless of the cause, I'm with you. I watch less Netflix as a result, too.
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proves it both ways, does it not? I mean, I agree that if Apple abandoned trying to control app delivery it would be a big deal. I just don't think a simple rule gets us there.
I think it’s reasonable to expect a lot of people to follow Netflix outside of the App Store. Therefore Apple would have to make an offer that is competitive enough for them to stay. I would argue that’s fair competition. Unlike their current highway robbery approach (in German we have the word wegelagerei, which was medieval toll extortion on unavoidable roadways, a better fitting term in my opinion)
Obviously Netflix would have more negotiating power if there were more alternatives. Netflix has enough leverage with Apple now that they pay half what regular developers pay. The dynamics play strongly in Apple's favour. 15% (or 30% for shmoes) may be a large slice. But even if the alternative app store is free for developers,
In any case, I'm not arguing that a competitive market would not be better. I'm arguing that it takes more than a minor rule to get there. The dynamics play strongly in the platform's favour. 15% (or 30% for shmoes) may be a large slice. But, unless you take the vast majority of users with you, that will add up to less revenue.
There just isn't a whole lot of middle ground, compatibility between a world with competitive dynamic and play store's business model. To the extent that a law would be successful in creating competition, the play store business model fails. It's premised on monopolism, more or less. I mean, payment processing and such obviously exist outside of a captive market... but in a competitive market, rates probably resolve to <50% of the current rate.
Tech companies that reach monopoly scale (like Apple, Facebook, Amazon) should have to disclose all their agreements and honor a "Most Favored Nation" clause giving all companies the same pricing and access as the best negotiated agreement with any one company. This is the most reasonable way I can think of without breaking them up to prevent them picking winners and losers as new opportunities emerge. If you have a…
Sure, but why limit this to tech companies? Let's also apply this to banks, landlords, governments, grocery chains, and employers in general. Why should I not get the best wages, negotiated employment agreement, interest rates, lease terms, and deal with the IRS on taxes that I really don't want to pay as my most successful peer? Banks bend over backwards for their VIP customers, why shouldn't they do the same for me…
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Better plan? How about we stop letting tech companies reach "monopoly scale"?
The market is globally competitive. How would expect tech companies to compete if you have policies that continuously place them at a disadvantage against global competitors. Tariffs don't solve these problems either. OP's suggestion is pretty decent idea relative to playing wack a mole with price fixing while trying to make sure your country's corps can compete on the global market.
If national governments are going to allow companies to be trans-national, then we clearly need trans-national regulatory authorities. This isn't rocket science.
People act like corporations are immutable acts of divine intervention. They are an artifact we create and we are free as a society to change their parameters however we wish.
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This is in many ways the same argument that ISPs used during the net neutrality debates as to why Netflix should have to pay them extra money. The parallels are there for sure. I would agree that gatekeeping is bad, and I often don't like how Apple behaves as gatekeeper. But there are massive key differences as well. Many ISPs have a local monopoly over broadband access. Many people have only a single choice for a br…
> whether or not Netflix derives value from their relationship with Apple, or not I think that's a very different question than whether or not Apple has a strong argument that Netflix ought to pay them for that value. As an example, Apple extracts value from its customers who sign up for Netflix on its platform. But Apple is not paying any of that money back to its customers, and I doubt it would try to argue that it…
This statement is false. If people are signing up for Netflix via Apple's platform then they're already customers of Apple's and, therefore, Netflix is not providing that value. Instead, Apple is only deriving additional value when customers sign-up through Apple's services for Netflix which is where Apple would collect that 15/30. Currently, you can't do that because Netflix doesn't want to play with those percentages so Apple derives no value from Netflix customers on their platform.
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Maybe this is not a popular opinion but I think that Apple do provide the value. They created the device, the OS, the marketing behind it, the physical stores, all of that. The iPhone is an iconic device because of all the investment Apple put into it. Yes, there are also the millions of developers and apps out there. But the one thing that Apple did right (for me and I guess most iOS users) is that they kept control…
The customer wants convenience, the developer wants to give convenience, and Apple charges 10-30x the going rate of merchant fees for it. And neither the developer nor the customer can pick a different style of convenience. I don't think it can be a free market if customers can't choose another option and developers can't compete with existing options.