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The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

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Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#641

Post by toomanyrichies »

I'm aware that Netflix offers a tiered plan structure, but it seems pretty lackluster to me. Really the only differentiator between plans is the availability of HD or Ultra HD [1]. That isn't much of a value proposition to a viewer like me, since I only watch Netflix on my laptop. I'd be curious to see what other tiered models Netflix has considered, if any.

One would think there's room for a Netflix equivalent of Amazon Prime, where you pay a yearly fee instead of a monthly fee (as the author mentions), for which you get a discount off the monthly rate for essentially "buying in bulk", as well as early access to original content, and maybe even get access to content that non-Prime subscribers can't access at all.

Netflix's strategy contains several apparent contradictions that I'm unable to make sense of. For example, charging by the month seems to conflict with releasing an entire season of content at once. If you're going to charge per-month, then as the author mentioned, switching to a weekly-release model seems like the smart move, so you can squeeze more months out of a viewer who sees that content as "appointment viewing". If you're going with a "binge-release" model, I would think you'd charge per-year instead.

Another contradiction- simultaneously raising subscription rates and cracking down on password sharing seem to conflict with each other. The more you raise your prices, the more you incentivize people to share passwords.

1. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#642

Post by MillenialGran »

This has been amazing to watch unfold.

Netflix after canceling all of its best shows during a period when piracy has never been easier: "Let's start doing ads!"

I wonder if anybody at Netflix has seen the UX of popular streaming apps like (now defunct I believe) terrarium and its successors. They're easier to use, just as fast as Netflix, have much larger libraries, allow DRM-free downloads, ad-free, no algorithmic spam, etc. It is incredible that when faced with that as another consumer option they've gone for "severely degrade user experience" as the strategy.

At this point, some vulture private equity firm should just take them private and sell it for parts. Clearly they've spent far too much time being the biggest player and have completely disconnected from what their customers want.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#643

Post by Johnny555 »

danans wrote: post #322

I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirating etc...). What's probably going on is after after a few years of pandemic isolation and Netflix binging, the arrival of pandemic triggered inflation, and overall higher employment rates, people just have less interest, time, and money to binge watch longer f…

I canceled because they were raising my subscription to $19.99 (I had the UHD subscription), and I really don't watch it enough to make it worth $20/month to me.

I still have Hulu, HBOMax and Disney, so in 6 months or so I'll probably drop one of those and return to Netflix to look for new content before they delete my viewing history. I've been with Netflix since when they were DVD-only, so they have a lot of history on me.

I imagine that before long, the streaming providers will get tired of people rotating through and will require 1 year contracts.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#644

Post by ineedasername »

ehsankia wrote: post #578
ineedasername wrote: post #536

On bad quarter for subscription losses-- driven by dropping out of the Russian marked-- (they'd be up 500k subscribers if not for that) and people are jumping on the "Netflix is doomed" bandwagon. That seems very premature to me. Subscription growth has slowed and they may still lose some more, but saying the bottom is dropping out is hyperbole at best & clickbait at worst. (though why not both?). They're facing more…

They seem to be stuck in the lose subscribers -> increase price -> lose more subscriber cycle.

I guess it depends on how they react now, and who the price increase hits.

For now subscription loss is a one-off event, so it's a bit early to call it a cycle. They project to lose subscribers this quarter as well, so it could be the start but I'd guess that a base price increase is at least a year in the future since they just bumped it up. If they do it sooner, that would be a key sign of the cycle you're talking about.

They have hinted at a price increase for accounts that are sharing passwords. On the other hand they've also hinted at a cheaper ad-supported plan. If they go ahead with an increase for shared accounts that could get messy. There's a lot of potential for angry customers here. Get it right and people will be frustrated at higher prices, maybe cancel, maybe share the cost, but probably not be outraged. Get it wrong and they've got a million or more customers essentially getting fined for sharing an account that they're not actually sharing.

It will be interesting to follow along, I just think it's too soon to project any particular path. They could pull it together (maybe?) or they could proceed to botch things up with customer-unfriendly punitive policies and lower quality content as they try to cut costs, and maybe two years from now we'll be looking at a Disney(+) buy out at a steep discount. (more likely, at least the part about screwing things up. A buyout... I don't know. Maybe just stagnation.)

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#646

Post by rcurry »

I just got tired of them putting the same movies in every damned category:

Horror? How about The Truman Show!

Sci-Fi? How about The Truman Show!

Action? How about The Truman Show!

Adventure? How about The Truman Show!

Finally I just unsubscribed.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#647

Post by tonguez »

danans wrote: post #322

I doubt most of the subscription loss is attributable to reasons that most HN types go on about (the rants about wokeness, not enough scifi, carousel UI, pirating etc...). What's probably going on is after after a few years of pandemic isolation and Netflix binging, the arrival of pandemic triggered inflation, and overall higher employment rates, people just have less interest, time, and money to binge watch longer f…

No post body was provided.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#648

Post by jimmyjazz14 »

zeroonetwothree wrote: post #499
cm2012 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd add Arcane on Netflix, which is also on the top 20 shows of all time on IMBD.

I think Arcane is probably the worst scripted show I've ever watched. It makes me immediately skeptical of ratings. My only hypothesis is that everyone enjoying it has never read a book.

Its basically a live action comic book and it does that well though its not everyone's thing.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#649

Post by burntoutfire »

Stunting wrote: post #344
californical wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really stealing if they wouldn’t have ever paid for it in the first place? If it’s not easy to find and use on a subscription service that I already have, I’m just not gonna try to search for it or pay for it. What difference would it make if I pirated it and watched it anyways? (FWIW I personally don’t pirate anything, I just really don’t see the merit to the “stealing” argument)

Yes it is really stealing. You want something. You don't want to pay for it. You take it without paying. That's stealing. If you really truly didn't want to watch it, you wouldn't steal it.

> You want something. You don't want to pay for it. You take it without paying.

This is an age old argument... I'm not taking anything. I'm merely looking at something. The same way that I'm not "stealing from Leonardo" when I look at statue of David. I understand that the makers of the movie had some hopes of monetizing my looking but alas, they failed. Based on pure logic alone, it's clear that piracy is not theft, it's something else.

Re: The bottom is dropping out of Netflix

#650

Post by cwkoss »

Stunting wrote: post #291
cercatrova wrote: post #101

It's easier just to pirate than keep up with all these streaming services. - You get the benefit of high quality (true 4k, not stream compressed "4k") and no buffering. - Plex, Radarr, Sonarr automatically downloads and categorizes your content for you, you can just sit back and enjoy your content. - Edit: Plex et al are not the *only* ways to download content, not sure why some replies are thinking so. I too can typ…

You're stealing income, specifically from me and all of my coworkers. Perhaps you think that you're only stealing from Producers and A list actors, but there are entire departments that receive residuals on a production. - On screen performers, stunt performers like myself and actors who grind out a comfortable living. Those residuals also go to qualifying for health insurance through earnings. You are directly steal…

It's not stealing if they wouldn't have paid for it otherwise.
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