netflix

Showing 41 posts tagged netflix

Netflix Competitor Launches New Netflix Competitor

Speaking of Netflix, Comcast is launching a Netflix competitor.

But wait — isn’t Comcast already a Netflix competitor with their On Demand service, their Xfinity service, and their stake in Hulu? Well yes, but this will have a new name and new fees! Joy!

Reports Andrew Wallenstein for Variety:

With a business model and catalog-oriented content mix similar to Netflix and other competing services like Amazon and a coming joint venture from Verizon and Redbox, Comcast is clearly attempting to supplement its existing digital presence, Xfinity, with a long-tail-oriented offering. But Streampix is not available to those who don’t already get Comcast cable.

Streampix will either be free to those who get Comcast’s triple-play package of video, broadband and phone or for an additional $4.99 fee on top of other varieties of Comcast offerings.

So, it will only be available to those people who already have Comcast cable. AND it will likely cost you an additional fee even if you’re already spending upwards of $100 a month on cable. What a fucking fantastic sounding service.

Hollywood's Next Great Business Model: Praying That Stars Die

Update: While McDermott accurately quoted the Netflix rep (who herself apparently checked with two supervisors), Netflix is now saying the information is inaccurate. Actually, The Bodyguard vanished as a streaming option before Houston’s passing.

Earlier: When asked why The Bodyguard was pulled from Netflix streaming following Whitney Houston’s death, Dan McDermott got the following response from a Netflix rep:

I just went and talked to my main supervisor as to why the movie had been pulled and the reason it was pulled was the production company pulled the streaming rights from us because all the publicity after Whitney Houston’s passing there was an opportunity to make really a very large amount of money on the DVD sales of her movies. So they’re going to pull all the streaming titles we have of Whitney Houston so they can make more money off the DVD sales of her movies.

What fucking scumbags. Not Netflix, which sadly has no control over situations like this, but the movie studio. 

It seems like Hollywood is eyeing two business models in order to preserve their precious DVD sales (which are tanking more each day):

1) Make it basically impossible to rent a film. It used to be that you could rent a movie the day it came out for sale on DVD. Then it was 30 days later. Now it’s 56 days later. And you can’t even think about renting the films for 28 days.

As a reminder, torrents currently have no such window.

2) Hope and pray that big time stars die to temporarily boost sales. And instead of doing everything in you power to ensure that fans have easy access to remember the stars they cherished, pull all access except for the most expensive and limited variety in order to maximize profits.

Dear HBO

First and foremost, I love your content. You’ve produced several of my favorite shows over the years, and the hits keep on coming. I’d love to watch Game of Thrones now, but I can’t. You see, the only way to get your service is to be a cable subscriber, and several months ago I cut the cord. 

The recent news that you’ve reached agreements with Cablevision and Time Warner Cable to make your iPad app, HBO Go, more widely available has plenty of people all excited. But to me it looks like a big turd sandwich. If I wanted cable, I’d pay for cable. I just want HBO, but you make it impossible.

I realize this is all about money. The cable companies send you a ton of cash and provide you with a great platform on which you are given prime billing to the elite tier customers. But the world is changing. And you need to get in front of it.

Though they’re going through a bit of a rough transformation right now, Netflix is clearly adjusting their cannons to aim right at you. In 2 years, they will be HBO — but better. Because they won’t require a goddamn bullshit cable subscription.

I’d gladly pay you upwards of $19.99 a month for direct access to HBO Go without a cable subscription. Netflix charges $7.99 a month for their streaming service right now, but thanks to your original programming, you’re worth a lot more. But Netflix original programming is coming soon, so your premium buffer won’t last forever. The time to strike is now.

If you could remove your lips from the cable company teat for a minute, you’d find hundreds of thousands — and likely millions — of customers happy to pay a premium for access to HBO Go without the cable requirement right now. That number is only going to grow. And fast.

Content is king, and you have the best content. If you do go cable-optional, a few of the cable companies may try to boycott you. But the ensuing customer relations shitstorm will only prove your value and will hasten the arrival of the post-cable world. You can lead this revolution.

So please HBO, I beg you, take control. Pre-empt Netflix and rise against big cable. Fulfill your destiny. Or I’m going to have to call on ESPN.

Update: Yes, Time Warner owns HBO, but…

New 'Arrested Development' Episodes Coming Exclusively To Netflix

March 19, 2011, an article entitled: “Another Netflix Content Idea: Saving Cancelled Cult Hits”:

Would the economics ultimately work out? It’s hard to say for sure. Even the House of Cards bet is still very much a bet for Netflix as well. But I do think that a proven cult hit like Firefly would be much less of a gamble (and could likely be secured for cheaper than House of Cards was).

And that’s just one example. Arrested Development. Battlestar Galactica. Twin Peaks. These are all things that could succeed where they failed on television because it’s an entirely different model.

Bolding mine. Actually, entire article mine.

You’re welcome, Netflix. Next bring back Firefly and we’ll call it even.

Netflix’s market cap has plummeted from around $15 billion to around $4 billion in just three months.  The company that could do no wrong for a long time, now can’t seem to do anything right. It’s fascinating. The odd thing is that not all that much has actually changed over that span. Instead, this seems to be mostly about perception and that’s badly hurting their outlook. The price changes were necessary, but Netflix mildly fucked up the handling of them. The spin-off of the DVD business was also a good idea for the long run, but Netflix badly fucked up the handling of it.  Those screw-ups led to some customer defections, but not all that many. But those side-by-side with the content standoff most of Hollywood now seems intent on waging with Netflix makes the future outlook uncertain at best (a fucking nightmare at worst). Netflix is a great example of a scrappy company totally disrupting a business model and destroying an incumbent (Blockbuster). But it turns out that the reward for all that hard work was simply turning the Eye of Sauron on them. Now that Netflix is the incumbent, Hollywood is out to grab the money as they beat the shit of them to assert their command. The content business is a bitch.  High-res

Netflix’s market cap has plummeted from around $15 billion to around $4 billion in just three months. 

The company that could do no wrong for a long time, now can’t seem to do anything right. It’s fascinating.

The odd thing is that not all that much has actually changed over that span. Instead, this seems to be mostly about perception and that’s badly hurting their outlook. The price changes were necessary, but Netflix mildly fucked up the handling of them. The spin-off of the DVD business was also a good idea for the long run, but Netflix badly fucked up the handling of it. 

Those screw-ups led to some customer defections, but not all that many. But those side-by-side with the content standoff most of Hollywood now seems intent on waging with Netflix makes the future outlook uncertain at best (a fucking nightmare at worst).

Netflix is a great example of a scrappy company totally disrupting a business model and destroying an incumbent (Blockbuster). But it turns out that the reward for all that hard work was simply turning the Eye of Sauron on them. Now that Netflix is the incumbent, Hollywood is out to grab the money as they beat the shit of them to assert their command.

The content business is a bitch. 

Now Serving: Netflix Waffles

I’m really starting to worry about Netflix. Yes, Qwikster was an awful name, but the idea that streaming is the future, DVDs are the past is the exact right one. Spinning that business off makes sense as it’s a sinking ship.

Sure, many current customers will bitch and moan at first. But that too will die over time. The customer is always right, except when they’re wrong.

But the bigger problem is Netflix’s waffling. This is the second time they’ve made a major decision, stated it, then gone back. I don’t care how strong the company is, this makes them seem weak and indecisive.