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Netflix is turning into cable TV

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Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#51

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

foolfoolz wrote: post #32
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

> similar content experience

You mean 5 channels of shopping, 1 channel for black programming, several in Spanish, 10 news channels all with BREAKING NEWS, sports channels that I don’t watch, kids channels that I don’t want, reruns of Law and Order and COPS, 1 or 2 female-oriented channels like Hallmark, reality TV, cooking and baking TV, America’s Bachelor…

No thanks. I’ll keep my $100/month.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#52

Post by bombcar »

ensignavenger wrote: post #44
kstrauser wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know it. I won't watch a Netflix series until the series finale. I don't need any more rugs pulled out from under me.

I feel the same way, but at this point, I have extended the same policy to Disney and Amazon to at least some degree. If I can't verify that the show has a decent conclusion at the end of what is already released, I avoid it.

If it’s not available in a box set at the library, I won’t get it.

If it is, well I got it from the library and saved a subscription.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#53

Post by coder543 »

ipaddr wrote: post #50
coder543 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 subs…

Why not go for the 14/15 price option? Do you really need the best quality video for shows you judge to be average at best? Why do you need the best most expensive package? Stay within your budget.

Yes, I need the best quality that is available if I'm going to watch something. It's non-negotiable to me. That is a personal choice, like buying 4K Blu-rays of most things that I like. If Netflix would sell 4K blu-rays of all of their Originals, I would just buy those instead of (not) subscribing, but they do that for very little of their content. I always pay for the ad-free plans on these services for a similar reason: I don't find watching ads to be an acceptable use of time.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#54

Post by contravariant »

tomrod wrote: post #26
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.

Right? We just canceled Netflix after 15 years or so of subscription. Their content discovery is garbage, their licensing decisions questionable, and their original content typically B- or C- grade. Sure, I liked Sandman. But a light bulb flipped when I watched prime and saw maybe 60% of the content looked interested. Netflix was maybe 2%. Hulu near 25% without add-ons. You want customer loyalty? Add a new season to…

If Amazon has good content they're not doing a great job advertising it, my impression of Amazon original shows is basically a knock-off versions of existing shows.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#55

Post by michael1999 »

MostlyStable wrote: post #47

Sometimes I wonder what our media landscape would look like if exclusive licensing deals were prohibited. You still own your IP, you can sell it, but whatever price you set, it's the price that anyone who is interested in your product is allowed to buy. I'm not sure how this would interact with companies that both create and distribute content. They'd either be forced to come up with a price, or else maybe that combi…

Radio has compulsory licensing. It seems to work ok. And the dvd era Netflix owed their existence to 1st sale doctrine. But the studios would fight it to the bitter end.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#56

Post by edgyquant »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #10
autokad wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix's situation was unsustainable. We were getting content very cheaply because they were skirting a lot of agreements that made sure all the people in the process got paid. Most of big tech's innovation was just doing this: skirting laws and agreements and cutting people out of the gains. Also, companies initially allowed netflix to stream their assets because it was at first thought of as free money. Example: "…

"Most of big tech's innovation was just doing this: skirting laws and agreements and cutting people out of the gains." Interesting cuz the vast majority of any tech innovation is cutting people out and using fast and reliable machines to do work instead...

Ah yes, because Uber and Airbnb definitely cut people out of the mix

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#57

Post by hnlmorg »

tomrod wrote: post #26
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.

Right? We just canceled Netflix after 15 years or so of subscription. Their content discovery is garbage, their licensing decisions questionable, and their original content typically B- or C- grade. Sure, I liked Sandman. But a light bulb flipped when I watched prime and saw maybe 60% of the content looked interested. Netflix was maybe 2%. Hulu near 25% without add-ons. You want customer loyalty? Add a new season to…

Ironically I find Prime to be the worst platform. Aside from The Boys and Star Trek (most of which isn’t on Prime anyway) I can’t think of much I watched in the last 5 years that impressed me.

The Tick was amusing, but that’s quite old now. I did like Rings Of Power too, despite its many flaws. But The Boys is probably the only stand-out show on that platform.

It’s also got a horrifically bad UI too.

Netflix can definitely be hit and miss but so are all the streaming services. Disney over milked Star Wars and Marvel. Apple has some beautiful looking shows but a lot of them are forgettable. Because nobody is sharing licenses it means everyone is rushing out content for contents sake. It’s the same race to the bottom that you see with YouTube / Twitch streamers.

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#58

Post by passwordoops »

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…

>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

It's not the studio, it's whatever local rightsholder owns it for your country. Where I am (Canada) it tends to be Bell, which is a content creator, ISP, and cable providing monopsonist. If they don't want to sell the rights, or put the price too high, the streaming services won't have it.

Long story short, blame your local politically-connected middle man and fire up the torrents

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#59

Post by lathiat »

jurassic wrote: post #39

> 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.

I feel like mainstream TV wasn't much better at that. The vast majority of TV shows I got into seemed to get cancelled after 1-2 seasons.

While they seem to have a bad track record by public opinion, it's unclear how much worse Netflix was at this.

I did a quick google to see if I could find any statistics, I got bored looking for some better data but did find this article claiming that from 2009-2012 "on average, 65% of new network television series will be canceled within their first season.": https://screenrant.com/tv-success-rate-canceled-shows/

Re: Netflix is turning into cable TV

#60

Post by passwordoops »

unsignedint wrote: post #40
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.

We've been okay cycling through them every 6 months or so
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