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Netflix Flexes

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Re: Netflix Flexes

#31

Post by x3tm »

jVinc wrote: post #21

My takeaway from Birdbox is the old adage: "Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes." Sure it got tons of views because of all the advertisement and the tons of focus on viral media advertisement on every single platform. But the reaction from people watching it before me when asked if it was good was "Well I mean, I did watch it to the end, but i…

Few people complain about google's curated search results though or facebook news recommendations (or whatever they are called, I dont have facebook I just read about their algorithm some time ago).

edit: typo.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#32

Post by baxtr »

2bitencryption wrote: post #25

My takeaway from Bird Box is that if Netflix wants to make any of their original content one of the most-watched media events of the year, they can do it, regardless of the quality of the content itself. All it takes is for them to slip it in to people's "custom, curated" lists at a higher frequency, and maybe do a little subtle social-media engineering on Reddit/Facebook, and bam: instant box office smash of a deriv…

Yes, I agree, but you can’t do that too often. People will eventually stop trusting your recommendations. I experienced something similar with their B-series that they highly promote. I stopped after watching 1-2 episodes. Now, I don’t even care to start anymore.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#33

Post by beerlord »

shmerl wrote: post #26

Netflix gradually turned from bad to worse. First they pushed DRM into HTML standard. Then they joined the MPAA cartel. Nothing good should be expected on that trajectory.

0.01% of customers care about that and less than 1% could even decipher those acronyms.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#34

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

2bitencryption wrote: post #25

My takeaway from Bird Box is that if Netflix wants to make any of their original content one of the most-watched media events of the year, they can do it, regardless of the quality of the content itself. All it takes is for them to slip it in to people's "custom, curated" lists at a higher frequency, and maybe do a little subtle social-media engineering on Reddit/Facebook, and bam: instant box office smash of a deriv…

I wonder when people start noticing. For me their content is just mediocre. When you think about it, creating a real masterpiece is very hard and requires a combination of talent, taste, luck, investment and so on. It doesn't happen just by pushing something as "recommended".

Re: Netflix Flexes

#35

Post by shmerl »

beerlord wrote: post #33
shmerl wrote: post #26

Netflix gradually turned from bad to worse. First they pushed DRM into HTML standard. Then they joined the MPAA cartel. Nothing good should be expected on that trajectory.

0.01% of customers care about that and less than 1% could even decipher those acronyms.

That's how that cartel would like it to be (something most view as too obscure). Since when such issues are brought to the public, it becomes glaringly obvious how crooked the are.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#36

Post by Pharmakon »

40acres wrote: post #20
Pharmakon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you’re right, and then we’ll see a cycle of renewed piracy, followed by the grudging realization that making some money is better than making no money. It took a while to crack the music industry, but the same inevitable forces are ultimately at play here.

For most casual consumers piracy is an inefficient way of getting content, even in the hay-day of piracy I'd bet that most consumers were getting their content via normal channels. A slight uptick in piracy may occur for the technically minded, but most consumers will pay for the convenience of streaming.

Things like Kodi boxes and steaming piracy sites have really changed the landscape. I find that many pirates today are not technical, might not know what bittorrent is, and find the whole experience to be roughly like any streaming service.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#37

Post by 40acres »

2bitencryption wrote: post #25

My takeaway from Bird Box is that if Netflix wants to make any of their original content one of the most-watched media events of the year, they can do it, regardless of the quality of the content itself. All it takes is for them to slip it in to people's "custom, curated" lists at a higher frequency, and maybe do a little subtle social-media engineering on Reddit/Facebook, and bam: instant box office smash of a deriv…

If you look closely enough you can see a clear trend regarding Netflix's content strategy. They will continue to make movies like Bird Box, B-style movies and "cult classics" that they can draw big numbers to via their reach and marketing.

Oscar contenders like Roma and Beast of No Nation (a bit early for it's time if you ask me).

Partnerships with foreign content makers to act as an international distributor (BBC produced, Golden Globe Winner, The Bodyguard for example).

Top quality original TV: The Crown for example, fueled by contracts with big name show-runners and writers to produce them (Shonda Rhymes).

And finally, high value syndication targets (Friends, Mad Men, The Office).

Netflix's content allocation seems pretty clear, the next few years will be optimization at the margins.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#38

Post by misterprime »

jVinc wrote: post #21

My takeaway from Birdbox is the old adage: "Any observed statistical regularity will tend to collapse once pressure is placed upon it for control purposes." Sure it got tons of views because of all the advertisement and the tons of focus on viral media advertisement on every single platform. But the reaction from people watching it before me when asked if it was good was "Well I mean, I did watch it to the end, but i…

For me it was: "Cool, this is some decent new content from something I was already paying for."

Perhaps if I wasn't already a subscriber and the social media hype led me to subscribe I would be disappointed, but for an existing subscriber? I'll keep my auto-renew going.

Re: Netflix Flexes

#39

Post by namdnay »

2bitencryption wrote: post #25

My takeaway from Bird Box is that if Netflix wants to make any of their original content one of the most-watched media events of the year, they can do it, regardless of the quality of the content itself. All it takes is for them to slip it in to people's "custom, curated" lists at a higher frequency, and maybe do a little subtle social-media engineering on Reddit/Facebook, and bam: instant box office smash of a deriv…

To be fair, big studios have to convince you to pay to go see a film, Netflix just have to convince you to watch it “for free”

Re: Netflix Flexes

#40

Post by untog »

adwf wrote: post #24
general8bitso wrote: post #9

I have been a Netflix subscriber for over 5 years now, but seldom use it anymore. Most streaming is via Hulu (commercial free) or Prime in our house nowadays. I don’t have children, but I could see how having the Disney catalog would be enticing to parents of young children. Also, strange the article did not mention Fortnight, by name, as a competitor.

I honestly don't think a Disney streaming platform should scare Netflix that much. You can get the entire classic Disney DVD back catalogue for ~£200, why would parents buy a streaming service for £10-20/month for years on end? And that's the whole classic catalogue - when you bear in mind that kids will happily watch the same old Frozen DVD over and over again, I don't see it as a huge compelling offering. Even addi…

Disney owns ABC, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm. Not mention ABC Family and existing Disney cable channels. Between those assets they could make a very compelling streaming service. Something Netflix knows well since they were leaning hard on Marvel shows for a while.
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