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

Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

streamingobserver.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 548 posts

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#41

Post by scarface74 »

rayiner wrote: post #19
koonsolo wrote: post #9

I find it strange that Spotify is able to list almost any band and music out there, and streaming video providers not. They are even forced to create their own content. Seems that the music industry has a better separation between content creators and providers than the movie and series industry.

Music is subject to compulsory licensing. Something that made sense when only big companies could record and distribute music (making cartel behavior easy), not so much now that anyone with an iPad and an internet connection can do so.

It's a little more complicated than that.

-There is a compulsory performance license that allows radio stations to play any music. They have to pay the song writers and the music writers (?) a fee based on a mandated structure but not the actual singers.

-There is a separate compulsory licence for Pandora like services where you can't choose your music and there are guidelines that Pandora has to abide by.

-There is no compulsory license for on-demand subscription services like Spotify where you can choose the music you want to listen to.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#44

Post by eatbitseveryday »

Coincoin wrote: post #13

Here in Canada almost all English language content is licensed to a single company, Bell. They systematically deny any access to Netflix and started their own service, Crave TV. They are the one responsible for the great Proxy/VPN banning this year. They are taking advantage of a government granted monopoly they had in the 1900's and now control a disproportionate amount of the media in Canada.

Off topic, but...

> They are the one responsible for the great Proxy/VPN banning this year.

At first, I thought this meant Netflix banning all use of VPN for streaming. Searching news articles shows in fact a Rogers VP rep had called on the government to outright ban VPN universally[1], but this was back in spring 2015. You are saying this has actually been made law and is enforced?

How did this pass when major corporations require VPNs, and I presume also government officials use it for sensitive communications?

[1] http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/carriers/rogers/rogers-governme...

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#45

Post by Y-bar »

muninn_ wrote: post #31
Y-bar wrote: post #15

And of these 31 remaining almost half are missing in the Swedish Netflix: 5. Back to the Future 6. Gladiator 7. Sunset Boulevard 8. Cinema Paradiso 9. Django Unchained 12. Reservoir Dogs 13. Braveheart 17. Amadeus 21. Trainspotting 24. There Will Be Blood 25. Spotlight 26. The Princess Bride 27. Zootopia 29. Jaws 31. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl And yet Netflix want the same monthly cost for…

Well, it's most likely some sort of licensing issue. If Netflix could show you all the same content that it does in the U.S. for the same price they absolutely would.

I agree that it most likely is some sort of licensing issue which prevents the same content. But Netflix isn't paying for Cinema Paradiso, or Braveheart, or Zootopia, or … in Sweden. In fact the Swedish library is less than half the size of the US library[1]. Yet Swedish consumers pay just as much as US consumers. There is a large discrepancy in the value given for customers' money here which Netflix does not address.

    [1] http://cordcutting.com/how-many-titles-are-available-on-netflix-in-your-country/

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#46

Post by TallGuyShort »

wyldfire wrote: post #4

Netflix is clearly making heavy investments in what we've tended to call "Television" programming. It's often deep dramas that are very engrossing, much more so than TV offered a decade or two ago. Netflix likely sees higher returns here. Movies are quickly becoming the "short story" of the cinematic world, IMO (though those countless sequels and prequels are an exception). When done well they have a strict beginning…

I agree - Netflix is becoming synonymous with binge watching. I've gotten months and months of value out of Netflix with Breaking Bad, Lost, The Office, The X-Files, House, etc... If I had to do the research required to get similar satisfaction out of the same number of hours of movie viewing? Forget it.

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#48

Post by luma »

bagacrap wrote: post #11
jhbadger wrote: post #5

While I'm sure it's not entirely Netflix's fault (media companies realizing their back catalog has a value), it seems to be a common evolution for movie services to move to providing their own content. Look at HBO. In the 1980s, it was all about showing movies (the name even meant "Home Box Office"). Now it is all about Game of Thrones and what not. With things like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, etc., that…

HBO is a good example but I don't see blockbuster or Redbox creating content so I wouldn't say it's inevitable. Where are the movie companies hawking their back catalog if not Netflix?

Blockbuster is a great example of a company that didn't do that. How are they doing these days?

Re: Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies from IMDB's Top 250 List

#49

Post by parennoob »

SCdF wrote: post #28

It sucks that Netflix is pushing their own content as a solution. Don't get me wrong, some of their own content is great, but I don't want to subscribe to 10 different streaming services that all have their own original content, I want to subscribe to one. Netflix--and others, like Amazon Prime--are becoming less and less worthwhile, and piracy is becoming more and more convenient again.

> I don't want to subscribe to 10 different streaming services that all have their own original content, I want to subscribe to one

As long as they are unbundled and easy to subscribe and unsubscribe from, I don't really mind. The bundling is the real thing I hate about cable. Now sub-subscriptions like Amazon Prime has with Showtime and such really suck, and I wouldn't want those, but if registration is as simple as setting up or cancelling a recurring subscription, I'm fine with subscribing to 10 different services. I can also see the market for a free or one-time paid app that will maintain a queue of what you want to watch, and automatically subscribe to the correct channel for that month so you can watch the maximum content for the minimum money.

[Also, this is a personal opinion, but to me, Netflix's original content + their reduced catalog is definitely worth $10/month. Much better than the $100+ "special offer price" that Comcast offers if I want to watch non-stupid channels from their lineup.]

Post reply on HN