4 ms·

The other day I noticed the drama films on Netflix this month are very strong. Led to realization that as time passes, the licensing costs for media often decli

by jefe_ 8y ago

The other day I noticed the drama films on Netflix this month are very strong. Led to realization that as time passes, the licensing costs for media often decline. When Netflix started streaming in 2007 films that were 5, 10, and 15 years old (less expensive) were produced in 2002, 1997, 1992 respectively. Someone starting college in 2007 would have been between 4 and 14 years old when those films were released. Today, the same 5, 10, 15 targets hit years 2013, 2008, 2002. That user from 2007 is now ~30, and would have been between 14 and 25 when those films were released. As time passes, Netflix will be able to offer more relevant content to their core users at a lower cost. It seems some of their recent original content fills some of the programming gaps for younger users. They are positioned very well.

jetrink 8y ago
Interestingly though, they have very little content that is 40+ years old. In the United States, there are currently just 10 films available from the 1960s. Five of those are Bollywood films and three concern Barbara Streisand. There are only four films from the 1950s, including White Christmas, which always make good August viewing. There are so many amazing films from those two decades. Where are they?
- jedberg 8y ago
  Locked in vaults on deteriorating film masters. It's really hard to find original masters to digitize the older you get. You can't just grab an old laserdisc and encode it -- the resolution isn't good enough. You need to find the old high res film masters. As the AI gets better for restoring old film, it might become possible to find old laserdiscs or even VHS to use as a master, but right not, that's not really possible.
  - peeters 8y ago
    I mean the work has already been done for a heck of a lot of those films though right? A quick search shows oldies.com having 500+ movies from the 60s available in blu-ray. I would assume the rights to those digitalizations belong to the same owner as the rights to stream in most cases.
    - jedberg 8y ago
      > I would assume the rights to those digitalizations belong to the same owner as the rights to stream in most cases. Not in most cases, no. Usually everything is owned by someone else -- even the audio and the video are usually owned by separate companies. Also, the originals that those blu-rays were digitized from are most likely the film masters themselves, which would have to be found again, and possibly restored again. You'd be surprised how easily studios lose their film masters.
- philipkglass 8y ago
  I'd say they are on FilmStruck with the Criterion Channel. I subscribe to it in addition to Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now precisely because the other services don't have much in the way of older films. You can see what they have here: https://www.filmstruck.com/us/watch/browse-all/ https://www.filmstruck.com/us/watch/browse-all/
- mywittyname 8y ago
  Maybe the Netflix crowd is more into TV shows. They have/had a decent selection of shows from the 80s and 90s: Cheers, Bob Ross, Friends, Full House, 3rd Rock. Which suggests that the person you're replying to is onto something.

by jefe_ 8y ago

jetrink 8y ago

Interestingly though, they have very little content that is 40+ years old. In the United States, there are currently just 10 films available from the 1960s. Five of those are Bollywood films and three concern Barbara Streisand. There are only four films from the 1950s, including White Christmas, which always make good August viewing. There are so many amazing films from those two decades. Where are they?

jedberg 8y ago
Locked in vaults on deteriorating film masters. It's really hard to find original masters to digitize the older you get. You can't just grab an old laserdisc and encode it -- the resolution isn't good enough. You need to find the old high res film masters. As the AI gets better for restoring old film, it might become possible to find old laserdiscs or even VHS to use as a master, but right not, that's not really possible.
- peeters 8y ago
  I mean the work has already been done for a heck of a lot of those films though right? A quick search shows oldies.com having 500+ movies from the 60s available in blu-ray. I would assume the rights to those digitalizations belong to the same owner as the rights to stream in most cases.
  - jedberg 8y ago
    > I would assume the rights to those digitalizations belong to the same owner as the rights to stream in most cases. Not in most cases, no. Usually everything is owned by someone else -- even the audio and the video are usually owned by separate companies. Also, the originals that those blu-rays were digitized from are most likely the film masters themselves, which would have to be found again, and possibly restored again. You'd be surprised how easily studios lose their film masters.
philipkglass 8y ago
I'd say they are on FilmStruck with the Criterion Channel. I subscribe to it in addition to Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now precisely because the other services don't have much in the way of older films. You can see what they have here: https://www.filmstruck.com/us/watch/browse-all/ https://www.filmstruck.com/us/watch/browse-all/
mywittyname 8y ago
Maybe the Netflix crowd is more into TV shows. They have/had a decent selection of shows from the 80s and 90s: Cheers, Bob Ross, Friends, Full House, 3rd Rock. Which suggests that the person you're replying to is onto something.