Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Netflix is turning into cable TV

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 103 posts

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#31

Post by coder543 »

mvdtnz wrote: post #29
coder543 wrote: post #14

I just want a 4K Originals Plan with 1 screen. Features: - Only Netflix Original content (in 4K) - 1 screen, since password sharing isn’t allowed anyways - No ads - No WWE - No smartphone games - No licensed content (which seems to be mostly 1080p anyways), since I can watch that elsewhere I will offer $14/mo, at most. Why should I be forced to pay for a bunch of stuff I don’t want or can’t use? This is why I don’t h…

[flagged]

I literally paid for a month of Netflix in December, as I mentioned in the comment you replied to.

I subscribed to Netflix for many years continuously before they massively inflated their prices. Yes, I would pay for it if their prices weren’t so offensive. Netflix thinks they deserve to charge far more than anyone else, while offering content that is on average less valuable to me than the competitors that I am subscribed to.

My comment was a clear statement of what I want and what I would be willing to pay for. Netflix doesn't have to offer me what I want, and I don't have to pay them money.

Your comment did not contribute anything helpful to this discussion. A dismissive generalization about an entire population segment (without any actual data) is not a good basis for anything.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#32

Post by foolfoolz »

cwales95 wrote: post #6

This has been happening for years with the spawning of all these streaming services. At one point a lot of content was on Netflix but now it’s been bundled into the owners own streaming platform. So we’ve effectively went from cable tv to digital streaming freedom and almost back to square one.

one company (netflix) delivering the majority of streaming content wasn’t “digital streaming freedom”. you enjoyed the price compared to cable. it went from $100+/mo to $10/mo

and now the price is going back to where it was to get a similar content experience

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#33

Post by killjoywashere »

jimt1234 wrote: post #13
imgabe wrote: post #7

It's not even doing a good job of that, though. The other day someone mentioned the 1990 movie "Taking Care of Business" with Jim Belushi and Charles Grodin. It's a pretty unremarkable movie, but I remembered liking it as a kid for whatever reason and wanted to see it again. Of course, it's not on any of the four streaming services I pay for (I'm outside the US so ymmv). And why? Why is the studio hoarding access to…

This is exactly why I miss the old, neighborhood, mom-and-pop DVD-rental store. The place near my apartment back in the early-2000s pretty much never removed anything from the shelves, so you could find almost any movie ever made. You just had to wipe the dust off some of them.

If you can erase the past, you can control the population by influencing their collective memory.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#34

Post by jeromegv »

geertj wrote: post #19
cwales95 wrote: post #6

This has been happening for years with the spawning of all these streaming services. At one point a lot of content was on Netflix but now it’s been bundled into the owners own streaming platform. So we’ve effectively went from cable tv to digital streaming freedom and almost back to square one.

While I agree that there is ongoing enshittification, I do not think it's fair to say we're back at square one yet or any time soon. With Cable I am forced to buy a single ~$70+ plan with 100s of channels I don't need. With the streamers, at least I can get their ~$20 options independently.

Yep! And you can alternate from month to month, you don't need to get ALL STREAMING SERVICES every single month. Unsubscribing is extremely easy.

Now try to disconnect your cable and reconnect it months after months.

We are nowhere near the cost and the pain of cable

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#35

Post by airstrike »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #20
whalesalad wrote: post #15

Ever since HBO merged with Discovery, the content library has become garbage. It’s all reality shows, real housewives, tons of low effort content. HBO used to be the spot for edgy/racy content, great movies and really great shows.

You have to think big. The market for trash TV is enormous. HBO had saturated the quality market for a long time. If it wanted to grow, it needed trash.

Probably one of the reasons it rebranded as "Max"

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#36

Post by airstrike »

iwontberude wrote: post #28
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #11

I'll always have some sympathy for Netflix because they were effectively first. I remember waiting patiently for Netflix to arrive in Australia, and then as soon as it did arrive, a flood of competitors decided to "me too" into the party. They were too afraid to be first, so I've stuck with Netflix out of respect for their blazing the trail. The competitors such as Disney and Paramount have caused the enshittificatio…

They pivoted over ten years ago to literally “become HBO” and while that was a pretty weak vision, I think they succeeded.

If by "become HBO" you mean become as bad as the current state of HBO, sure, in which 99% of the content is trash but there's a show or two that are still decent.

Tragically most Netflix originals are hot garbage. I'm repeatedly amazed at how BAD television is today. I guess I pay for Netflix because every so often there's a show like The Crown which is actually commendable, even if I don't strictly love it.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#37

Post by jeromegv »

iwontberude wrote: post #28
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #11

I'll always have some sympathy for Netflix because they were effectively first. I remember waiting patiently for Netflix to arrive in Australia, and then as soon as it did arrive, a flood of competitors decided to "me too" into the party. They were too afraid to be first, so I've stuck with Netflix out of respect for their blazing the trail. The competitors such as Disney and Paramount have caused the enshittificatio…

They pivoted over ten years ago to literally “become HBO” and while that was a pretty weak vision, I think they succeeded.

They didn't really have a choice. They knew everyone else would eventually create their own streaming service for their own content, so they needed content of their own.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#38

Post by rlayton2 »

bxparks wrote: post #18

Netflix produced some interesting original shows. Most of them got canceled after a single season, on a cliff-hanger. That got frustrating, so we stopped watching Netflix original shows. Then we stopped watching Netflix. Then we canceled Netflix.

I am fine with "extra scene to setup the next season cliffhanger", but sometimes the "mainline story" isn't even finished. The season just stops at some point before the payoff, then gets cancelled in the off-season.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#39

Post by jurassic »

> a graveyard of prematurely canceled originals

This is the crux of the issue for me. I lost interest in even trying new Netflix shows because they developed a reputation for cancelling lots of good, not great, shows with loyal followings because they weren't pulling in blockbuster viewership numbers on the level of Stranger Things. This spray and pray strategy is fundamentally disrespectful to the audience.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#40

Post by unsignedint »

cwales95 wrote: post #6

This has been happening for years with the spawning of all these streaming services. At one point a lot of content was on Netflix but now it’s been bundled into the owners own streaming platform. So we’ve effectively went from cable tv to digital streaming freedom and almost back to square one.

These fragmented "plus" services ultimately led me to stop watching them altogether. Subscribing to each one becomes costly, and I don't find them compelling enough to justify the expense. In fact, I can't even recall the last Star Wars movie I watched.
Post reply on HN