16 ms·

Netflix’s biggest competition isn’t sleep, it’s YouTube

199 points by throwaway255 8y ago

mohi13 8y ago
I get disgusted by thinking why does Netflix want people to not sleep. Why auto-play in 5 sec? Isn't this morally wrong, like dangling cocaine in front of a drug addict. I agree that people have free will but designing products so that people waste days just watching TV is very very sad IMHO.
- mschuster91 8y ago
  > I get disgusted by thinking why does Netflix want people to not sleep. Why auto-play in 5 sec? It's like linear TV. No one complains about the "non-stop" aspect there.
  - lloeki 8y ago
    Well I do, that's part of why I stopped watching broadcasts altogether. The autoplay-next-thing can be disabled in the settings though, although it'll still auto-play a trailer after 15s if you complete a movie or whole series, which I loathe since it's a real mood killer after movies (I very much enjoy chilling or discussing while credits roll).
    - mschuster91 8y ago
      > that's part of why I stopped watching broadcasts altogether. For me it was not because of linear programming, but because the ads became ever more obnoxious and interrupting - first it was simple ad blocks. 5min, nice, take a pee. Then the stations increased the loudness of ad spots, well fuck your ears if you decided to not take a pee. Then stations started putting layers of ads above the content and the last fad before I decided to tv-exit was that stations PiP-ed the content right in the middle of action scenes or whatnot - at 25% of screen estate, and the rest 75% was ads. Also, quality of content that was not US cinema radically decreased - Germans who know the Galileo of pre-2000 know what I mean... it's all about the TV form of clickbait, aka "eyeball-baiting", now.
- davinic 8y ago
  I imagine the auto-play feature, as well as the "skip intro" features save Netflix millions of dollars in bandwidth fees.
Inetgate 8y ago
It seems there is a typo in subject. Current title is "Netflix’s biggest competition isn’t sleep — it’s YouTube"
- Kiro 8y ago
  What's the typo?
- nicky0 8y ago
  Are you referring to the replacement of the hyphen with a comma?
godelski 8y ago
I think both would do better if they actually recommended me something I wanted to watch. Like why doesn't YouTube put on the front page a user's new video who I'm subscribed to (Applied Science), pressed the dumb bell icon, and have watched literally every video of (which are always over 10 minutes)? I can't think of any more clear indication of "I want this" than that. Netflix does similar things. Pushing their own content. The difference is that YouTube actually has more content that I want to watch.
- mod 8y ago
  My YouTube homepage is about 75% stuff I want to watch or that comes from subscribers I usually want to watch. It’s badically exactly what you just said you wished for. I’m not sure why your experience is different from mine.
  - godelski 8y ago
    Huh, I wonder what causes that. Because I'll watch some of the political comedians (like Trevor Noah and others) and then that takes over my feed for a few days. I do like viewing new content, but it seems like the algorithm encourages showing stuff I'm not subscribed to (like the above comedies) as opposed to stuff I am subscribed to. I also frequently get suggested videos I've seen before. Like even the same day. And I do have history enabled.
    - tk75x 8y ago
      Try checking out the subscriptions tab on their mobile app.
      - godelski 8y ago
        That does show me only stuff I've subscribed to. What I'm asking for is mostly what exists, but when something I've subscribed to posts new content,put that on the home page so I can't miss it
  - woodycheers 8y ago
S_A_P 8y ago
I don't necessarily agree with this. If I want to watch well produced online content, I do not think Youtube.com. I do think that Netflix and amazon Prime video have "traditional" studio created content that has high production value. That said, I watch youtube and Netflix almost equally, but for different reasons. Youtube is great for short videos, interviews and niche interest. IF I want to watch scripted drama like NARCOS, I can't find anything close to that on Youtube. At this point, I dont think that they are competitors. The content is not even close to being equal. Im not even saying one is better or worse, they just are too different to call them competition.
- bayesian_horse 8y ago
  Youtube is better at grabbing the users' attention... Not necessarily with better content. Though I learn more from Youtube than from Netflix, in general...
  - bilbo0s 8y ago
    Again though, Netflix is not there to grab a user's attention, Netflix is there to grab a user's money. We shouldn't conflate these two base motivations. If netflix gets you to pay the monthly fee, while at the same time you only use a quarter of the bandwidth of most other netflix users... well, I'd imagine that's a win for netflix. Again, we'd need more of Netflix' internal data, but I wouldn't be surprised if a full modeling would reveal that netflix wants to optimize viewing time to be something less than 100% of some break even viewing level. I have to believe that people using Netflix more than a certain amount in a month end up costing netflix instead of benefiing netflix. But again, we really need access to their internal data to say that for sure.
    - jsnell 8y ago
      Bandwidth is cheap, when the users are actually paying customers. Churn, on the other hand is very expensive. I bet Netflix prefers heavy users over those who watch two movies a month: the latter people are much more likely to cancel the service.
keyboardmowing 8y ago
Yeah I don’t think the modern minute-by-minute generation who live on their phones are interested in dedicating an entire hour or two per show. Even Youtube with its 10-min videos seem long now. Netflix might need to create some ‘microshows’ to keep the younger generation’s attention.
- gammateam 8y ago
  One of youtube’s greatest value adds for me is the competition to convey a point quickly. For the past 10 years I’ve found advanced topics explained extremely well in 3 minutes for free, much better than a university professor ever could. The incentive models are not competitive fast enough in Academia Imagine if Netflix had this kind of content, possible subsidized for high quality
- adrianN 8y ago
  The next Star Wars movie will be published as a sequence of five second GIFs on Twitter.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  > Yeah I don’t think the modern minute-by-minute generation Odd then that the movies aimed at this generation are some of the longest in history. Something about your comment doesn't add up.
fouc 8y ago
Does anyone ever feel irritated by "amateur" produced videos that approach the quality of professional studios? Sometimes it's distracting when there's too much work done on the video, and you can tell there's additional people helping out behind the camera and you never get to see them as part of the video. Basically amateur/gonzo level videos feel more truthful than the highly edited videos.
- aequitas 8y ago
  Do you have any examples of this? I have never noticed this so far, the "crew" is always in the video or am just not watching those videos?
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    any youtuber who averages 100k views per video with more than one video a week probably either has a video editor or dark circles under their eyes. a lot of them have camera men/audio guys and a personal assistant to keep track of their schedule if they're the jetsetting type amateur youtube only exists <30k views + maybe 1 video in a week
    - detaro 8y ago
      I don't think those numbers can only be reached with helpers. How much effort camera/editing is really depends on the genre. E.g. for gaming channels, camera work basically doesn't exist, so it's "just" editing (which again highly depends on the style). At the lower level of "professional YouTuber", having to pay someone else vs doing it yourself would also make quite a difference for making the financials work out or not. Actually, I'd guess in gaming the most common external help would be a chat moderator for live streams.
  - fouc 8y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3moEtEmIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3moEtEmIA This one I saw recently.
    - 8y ago
puranjay 8y ago
I have very different expectations from YouTube than I have from Netflix, and my viewership patterns are very clear. If I have 20 minutes to kill, I'll follow some food vlogger on YouTube. If I have more time, I'll opt for something that requires "deep" engagement like Narcos But I'll admit that there are times I wish Netflix had a stronger library of shows I can watch without thinking too much about them. Like The Office, but original to Netflix
- tvanantwerp 8y ago
  It feels like nearly all of the high-quality shows these days are very heavy. Few good comedies, which I prefer for unwinding after a long day. Narcos is a great show, and I love watching it with my wife. But if I'm tired and spent, I'd rather watch IT Crowd for the umpteenth time.
- slantyyz 8y ago
  >> If I have 20 minutes to kill, I'll follow some food vlogger on YouTube. There's a lot of time waster content on Netflix now compared to before. They have a bunch of 20-30m reality TV shows (some of which are pretty good), and they have some even shorter form content as well (for example, Mike Tyson Mysteries).
rasz 8y ago
Sleep? more like Twitch.
whizzkid 8y ago
> “I think one of the main reasons YouTube is so successful in emerging markets is that it is more mobile-centric." explains Michael Goodman, Director of Television & Media Strategies at research firm Strategy Analytics I think he can be wrong here. It is because it is free my friend. People already pay enough for their phones, internet packages in emerging markets comparing to their monthly salaries. As soon as their income increases, you will be able to see a hike in subscriptions.
- josteink 8y ago
  > As soon as their income increases, you will be able to see a hike in subscriptions. But that would be youtube pro subscriptions, right? Because they already have all the content they watch there, and just want offline or ad-free. Disclaimer: ditched Netflix, bought YouTube pro.
  - whizzkid 8y ago
    I think, It depends. As far as I know YouTube Premium is only for removing ads and music streaming. If there are movies and quality professional content on YouTube Premium, then Youtube will have a bigger advantage since both amateur and professional content creators will be on the same platform. But right now, Netflix is the place to watch most of the desired pro content when it comes to both films and tv series.
    - kkarakk 8y ago
      youtube is rolling out a program where you can pay your favorite creator directly(it's a sponsor button next to subscribe)
suddenstutter 8y ago
Youtube is not even close to being a netflix competitor.
thewhitetulip 8y ago
I hardly think so. Youtube is a casual Netflix. Unless YouTube comes up with epic tv shows it won't be a serious competitor to Netflix. But that being said, Youtube is a den of self made videos like Honest Trailers, how it should have ended. Also sleep can't be a competitor. It is a bad thing if your product is so addictive that people go crazy over it. This is the reaosn why most apps these days let users track their times spent on the app. Because if people are severely addicted, they will not stay addicted for the rest od their lives. They will dump the site. I did the same to Prime, facebook and Instagram.
- philliphaydon 8y ago
  Cobra kai and impulse were pretty good. But YouTube said they will be investing less in original content recently so I don’t know what will happen with good content like this... Netflix on the other hand every time I think I’ll cancel, comes out with a bunch of new shows to watch and I seem to enjoy.
szastupov 8y ago
I dunno, YouTube's catalog of originals is so tiny it can be watched during free trial. Even if Netflix catalog is smaller outside US it's still huge, originals are great and I'm willing to pay for it.
alecco 8y ago
And they both suck. Netflix content is weak. The catalog outside US is terrible. YouTube ads are annoying yet original content is not worth the price for Premium. At a price point of $12 it's ridiculous. Music catalog is sub-par and not worth the switch from Spotify. Both seem to be more dedicated to push PC propaganda than matching what viewers want. Original content is quite bad save for some exceptions (Wild Wild Country, Cobra Kai). Months ago I canceled my Netflix account and hope some alternative site to YouTube comes up. On the other hand, it was good for me. I've been listening to more audiobooks instead. Money better spent.
- setquk 8y ago
  Totally agree. I don't go near netflix any more and I watch youtube with youtube-dl + VLC. The only subscription services that actually persists for me is Apple Music. And that's because the catalogue is pretty decent, the price is decent, it mostly just works (unlike Google's offering) and it stops me having to manage my entire family's music which is very time consuming. That has value. Other two, not so much. No more than television.
- seqastian 8y ago
  Calling Netflix content weak just shows how removed from what content gets released and people watch every day right now. Hint: it's mostly Netflix.
- dazc 8y ago
  I find it's worth cancelling the subscription from time to time since every three months or so I reach the point where I've seen anything worth paying for. The fact I can do this without any hassle is what I like about Netflix although, I suspect, the cost is low enough that a lot of people don't bother?
- baldfat 8y ago
  I pay $16 a month for the family YouTube plan and get add free viewing, shut off screen playback, and downloadable videos plus Google Play Music. Best thing I have ever subscribed for.
- Buge 8y ago
mymythisisthis 8y ago
Youtube is KING! Even if 99.9999% of the content sucks you still have thousands of great videos. Like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU Matthias Wandel. Scripted shows are terrible. Movies are terrible. Edufun is where it is at. I think that we need more people compiling the best of videos on Youtube.
- spookthesunset 8y ago
  Sad you get downvoted. I too think YouTube is the future of content consumption. I am perpetually amazed how much reasonably high quality stuff exists on youtube. Damn near 100% of the screen time I have control over is youtube videos. If I was single and living alone, all I would need is youtube.
glenrivard 8y ago
Well personally use both a lot. Like a real lot. Think both can exist together. But do tend to watch more YT then Netflix. If count YT TV in there then a lot more. Highly recommend YT TV.
ryanmercer 8y ago
I used to watch 3-4 hours of Netflix every evening, then I started actually subscribing to YouTube channels and now I have 2ish hours of subscription content to watch every single day of the week. n=1 but I don't doubt it! I even contribute to several via Patreon.
petercooper 8y ago
I watch YouTube a lot compared to any other TV or entertainment. Both TV and Netflix seem to have got obsessed over the idea of the "box set".. dragging a story out to 20 hours+ when I'd rather just get a novel story in a short time and then move on to something else. I just haven't got the time for most shows Netflix considers good nowadays when I can watch lots of 10 minute videos that are more entertaining in a variety of ways.
gwbas1c 8y ago
I'll be honest: I probably watch more Youtube than Netflix. But, and this is a big but: I'll continue paying for Netflix long after I stop paying for Youtube. Why? Netflix is quality content that I watch when I plan on sitting in front of the TV. In contrast, I only watch Youtube for a few minutes here and there. A different analogy is live TV versus a DVD. Youtube is more like live TV: lower-quality, news, commentary, interactive. Netflix is well-produced narratives.
- golfer 8y ago
  A bigger question is if Netflix can continue to thrive in a world where all the large media companies create their own Netflix-like streaming services. Disney has their own coming soon, apple, Amazon, Facebook, Hulu, Comcast, etc etc. Content costs continue to rise, and competition will be fierce. Netflix has a great head start and knows its audience well. But much larger companies are knocking on its door.
  - skohan 8y ago
    IMO Netflix has done well in this regard by transforming themselves into a content company rather than a content delivery service. Recently most of my favorite shows on Netflix have been 1st party titles, and I can't think of another content producer who's output is as varied and as high-quality as Netflix at the moment. Maybe Disney has the IP and the raw muscle to pull this off, but they will have to prove it. I actually think competition is good for the space. As I said, I think Netflix is really good now, but if they became an uncontested monopoly in the streaming space, I would fear that quality would suffer.
    - codq 8y ago
      HBO is infinitely more valuable to me as a producer of quality content. I actually can't remember the last time a Netflix show has brought me as much fulfillment and joy as almost anything on HBO.
- koonsolo 8y ago
  Good analogy! It even matches with displaying commercials.
quxbar 8y ago
I've quickly become addicted to longform (10+ minute) nonfiction youtube videos, whether it be a comprehensive analysis of Neverwinter Nights or 24 minutes on the advanced features of the laserdisc. Most, if not all of the content creators have Patreon pages, and I even contribute to a few. The content is so niche it's unimaginable that Netflix or any other content behemoth would develop their own version of it.
- jjoonathan 8y ago
  "You just clicked on a video about making a mostly square block of metal into an even more square block of metal. Just saying." -ThisOldTony
  - aequitas 8y ago
    Though describing ThisOldTony as nonfiction is a bit of a stretch ;)
    - jjoonathan 8y ago
      You mean I will never learn how to karate-chop stock in order to break it into a dozen perfectly-machined repeats of the prototype I just made? D:
  - simongr3dal 8y ago
    Here's a link to the video being referenced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8HNAlUXxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8HNAlUXxU ThisOldTony is very entertaining with his machining and dad jokes, I can highly recommend his channel. This video is not a bad starting point.
- dbspin 8y ago
  Techmoan is an amazingly soothing 'slow tv' channel in this regard.
- s0l1dsnak3123 8y ago
  I'm exactly the same. Some favourites I've collected over the years: 3Blue1Brown - math essays AlfieAesthetics - Bushcraft, botany and survival skills with some fun english humour mixed in CNLohr - fun hardware hacking livestreams Eliminator Performance - mechanical troubleshooting and maintenance vlogs Engineering Explained - Automotive engineering explainers and mini-lectures FearlessFront - Mechanical engineering, welding, and vehicle hacking How to make everything - multi-skill projects on making things from scratch as much as possible Kurzgesagt - Philosophy and science essays Lie Likes Music - Music essays Mathologer - Advanced (to me) Maths essays Matthew Cremona - Woodworking Matthias Wandel - Woodworking Nativlang - Essays on the history of spoken and written language Nerdwriter1 - Essays on Art, philosophy, and the sciences Nightmare Masterclass - Essays on fringe culture Numberphile - Mini-lectures on Maths Polyphonic - Essays on Music Primitive Technology - Vlogs on primative/ancient building techniques Rick Beato (specifically his "What makes this song great" series) - Essays on what separates iconic music from the rest Strange Parts - Hardware hacking projects, mainly based in Shenzhen, China The Drug Classroom - Scientific essays on recreational drugs This Exists - Essays on cultural oddities and internet culture specficially Uri Tuchman - Very intricate woodworking and engraving Wendover Productions - Video Essays on a variety of subjects including economics, travel, geography Wisecrack - Essays which examine pop culture through a philosophical lens.
jason46 8y ago
I prefer Netflix, unless I need to see a HowTo or a product review. My 6yr old daughter prefers anything on Youtube over Netflix. We also had cable which she wouldn't hardly watch at all so we returned her cable box.
En_gr_Student 8y ago
Maybe the things I sent to Apple, so they could start cutting into YouTube should also be sent to Netflix? :D
Shorel 8y ago
I would watch Youtube a lot more if the ads did not interrupt the video in the worst places. I mean, there are places where there is a scene transition and they are perfect for an ad. And there's the middle of an interesting explanation you don't want to interrupt. Youtube ads always interrupt the flow of the video. In many cases that makes me close the player and do something else. And many channels already have ads as part of their normal content. It seems Youtube has the content, but the huge and obnoxious amount of ads reminds me of old fashioned TV.
- mrep 8y ago
  Well they do have a paid version which doesn't have ads.
  - Shorel 8y ago
    That only applies to the ads from Google, not from content creators themselves. And it is three times more expensive than Netflix where I live. I don't see the value proposition there.
    - spookthesunset 8y ago
      > not from content creators themselves They gotta eat too, you know. Some of the channels I watch cost real cash-money for the creators to produce.
      - Shorel 8y ago
        > They gotta eat too, you know. Some of the channels I watch cost real cash-money for the creators to produce. I can see that. But this means Google model doesn't work for content consumers like me, and it also doesn't work for content creators.
- pc86 8y ago
  I'm not sure what your music provider is but I pay for Google Play precisely because it includes a completely ad-free YouTube experience. Combine that with my smart TV and I basically just flip back and forth between YouTube and Netflix when I am watching TV. Some of the longer form YouTube content is great on a large television.
thom 8y ago
I watch a fair bit of YouTube personal interest stuff (Magic: the Gathering and Chess channels). Same to a lesser extent with Twitch. I realised while reading this that I don't think I've ever sat down and watched YouTube with my wife. I watch a lot of Netflix stuff with my wife, and it's the only video platform I let my kids have access to. Beyond that, I torrent stuff generously. In my head, I'd probably reflexively claim that I'd never pay for YouTube, but then I'd realise I'm paying almost as much on Patreon to _one_ video creator as I am to Netflix each month. I must admit I've managed to get to this point without ever really thinking these things competed - YouTube is quite personal, Netflix is good for family, and you have to torrent if you want to watch anything new.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

199 points by throwaway255 8y ago

I get disgusted by thinking why does Netflix want people to not sleep. Why auto-play in 5 sec? Isn't this morally wrong, like dangling cocaine in front of a drug addict. I agree that people have free will but designing products so that people waste days just watching TV is very very sad IMHO.

mschuster91 8y ago
> I get disgusted by thinking why does Netflix want people to not sleep. Why auto-play in 5 sec? It's like linear TV. No one complains about the "non-stop" aspect there.
- lloeki 8y ago
  Well I do, that's part of why I stopped watching broadcasts altogether. The autoplay-next-thing can be disabled in the settings though, although it'll still auto-play a trailer after 15s if you complete a movie or whole series, which I loathe since it's a real mood killer after movies (I very much enjoy chilling or discussing while credits roll).
  - mschuster91 8y ago
    > that's part of why I stopped watching broadcasts altogether. For me it was not because of linear programming, but because the ads became ever more obnoxious and interrupting - first it was simple ad blocks. 5min, nice, take a pee. Then the stations increased the loudness of ad spots, well fuck your ears if you decided to not take a pee. Then stations started putting layers of ads above the content and the last fad before I decided to tv-exit was that stations PiP-ed the content right in the middle of action scenes or whatnot - at 25% of screen estate, and the rest 75% was ads. Also, quality of content that was not US cinema radically decreased - Germans who know the Galileo of pre-2000 know what I mean... it's all about the TV form of clickbait, aka "eyeball-baiting", now.
davinic 8y ago
I imagine the auto-play feature, as well as the "skip intro" features save Netflix millions of dollars in bandwidth fees.

Inetgate 8y ago

It seems there is a typo in subject. Current title is "Netflix’s biggest competition isn’t sleep — it’s YouTube"

Kiro 8y ago
What's the typo?
nicky0 8y ago
Are you referring to the replacement of the hyphen with a comma?

godelski 8y ago

I think both would do better if they actually recommended me something I wanted to watch. Like why doesn't YouTube put on the front page a user's new video who I'm subscribed to (Applied Science), pressed the dumb bell icon, and have watched literally every video of (which are always over 10 minutes)? I can't think of any more clear indication of "I want this" than that. Netflix does similar things. Pushing their own content. The difference is that YouTube actually has more content that I want to watch.

mod 8y ago
My YouTube homepage is about 75% stuff I want to watch or that comes from subscribers I usually want to watch. It’s badically exactly what you just said you wished for. I’m not sure why your experience is different from mine.
- godelski 8y ago
  Huh, I wonder what causes that. Because I'll watch some of the political comedians (like Trevor Noah and others) and then that takes over my feed for a few days. I do like viewing new content, but it seems like the algorithm encourages showing stuff I'm not subscribed to (like the above comedies) as opposed to stuff I am subscribed to. I also frequently get suggested videos I've seen before. Like even the same day. And I do have history enabled.
  - tk75x 8y ago
    Try checking out the subscriptions tab on their mobile app.
    - godelski 8y ago
      That does show me only stuff I've subscribed to. What I'm asking for is mostly what exists, but when something I've subscribed to posts new content,put that on the home page so I can't miss it
- woodycheers 8y ago

S_A_P 8y ago

I don't necessarily agree with this. If I want to watch well produced online content, I do not think Youtube.com. I do think that Netflix and amazon Prime video have "traditional" studio created content that has high production value. That said, I watch youtube and Netflix almost equally, but for different reasons. Youtube is great for short videos, interviews and niche interest. IF I want to watch scripted drama like NARCOS, I can't find anything close to that on Youtube. At this point, I dont think that they are competitors. The content is not even close to being equal. Im not even saying one is better or worse, they just are too different to call them competition.

bayesian_horse 8y ago
Youtube is better at grabbing the users' attention... Not necessarily with better content. Though I learn more from Youtube than from Netflix, in general...
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  Again though, Netflix is not there to grab a user's attention, Netflix is there to grab a user's money. We shouldn't conflate these two base motivations. If netflix gets you to pay the monthly fee, while at the same time you only use a quarter of the bandwidth of most other netflix users... well, I'd imagine that's a win for netflix. Again, we'd need more of Netflix' internal data, but I wouldn't be surprised if a full modeling would reveal that netflix wants to optimize viewing time to be something less than 100% of some break even viewing level. I have to believe that people using Netflix more than a certain amount in a month end up costing netflix instead of benefiing netflix. But again, we really need access to their internal data to say that for sure.
  - jsnell 8y ago
    Bandwidth is cheap, when the users are actually paying customers. Churn, on the other hand is very expensive. I bet Netflix prefers heavy users over those who watch two movies a month: the latter people are much more likely to cancel the service.

keyboardmowing 8y ago

Yeah I don’t think the modern minute-by-minute generation who live on their phones are interested in dedicating an entire hour or two per show. Even Youtube with its 10-min videos seem long now. Netflix might need to create some ‘microshows’ to keep the younger generation’s attention.

gammateam 8y ago
One of youtube’s greatest value adds for me is the competition to convey a point quickly. For the past 10 years I’ve found advanced topics explained extremely well in 3 minutes for free, much better than a university professor ever could. The incentive models are not competitive fast enough in Academia Imagine if Netflix had this kind of content, possible subsidized for high quality
adrianN 8y ago
The next Star Wars movie will be published as a sequence of five second GIFs on Twitter.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
> Yeah I don’t think the modern minute-by-minute generation Odd then that the movies aimed at this generation are some of the longest in history. Something about your comment doesn't add up.

fouc 8y ago

Does anyone ever feel irritated by "amateur" produced videos that approach the quality of professional studios? Sometimes it's distracting when there's too much work done on the video, and you can tell there's additional people helping out behind the camera and you never get to see them as part of the video. Basically amateur/gonzo level videos feel more truthful than the highly edited videos.

aequitas 8y ago
Do you have any examples of this? I have never noticed this so far, the "crew" is always in the video or am just not watching those videos?
- kkarakk 8y ago
  any youtuber who averages 100k views per video with more than one video a week probably either has a video editor or dark circles under their eyes. a lot of them have camera men/audio guys and a personal assistant to keep track of their schedule if they're the jetsetting type amateur youtube only exists <30k views + maybe 1 video in a week
  - detaro 8y ago
    I don't think those numbers can only be reached with helpers. How much effort camera/editing is really depends on the genre. E.g. for gaming channels, camera work basically doesn't exist, so it's "just" editing (which again highly depends on the style). At the lower level of "professional YouTuber", having to pay someone else vs doing it yourself would also make quite a difference for making the financials work out or not. Actually, I'd guess in gaming the most common external help would be a chat moderator for live streams.
- fouc 8y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3moEtEmIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R3moEtEmIA This one I saw recently.
  - 8y ago

puranjay 8y ago

I have very different expectations from YouTube than I have from Netflix, and my viewership patterns are very clear. If I have 20 minutes to kill, I'll follow some food vlogger on YouTube. If I have more time, I'll opt for something that requires "deep" engagement like Narcos But I'll admit that there are times I wish Netflix had a stronger library of shows I can watch without thinking too much about them. Like The Office, but original to Netflix

tvanantwerp 8y ago
It feels like nearly all of the high-quality shows these days are very heavy. Few good comedies, which I prefer for unwinding after a long day. Narcos is a great show, and I love watching it with my wife. But if I'm tired and spent, I'd rather watch IT Crowd for the umpteenth time.
slantyyz 8y ago
>> If I have 20 minutes to kill, I'll follow some food vlogger on YouTube. There's a lot of time waster content on Netflix now compared to before. They have a bunch of 20-30m reality TV shows (some of which are pretty good), and they have some even shorter form content as well (for example, Mike Tyson Mysteries).

rasz 8y ago

Sleep? more like Twitch.

whizzkid 8y ago

> “I think one of the main reasons YouTube is so successful in emerging markets is that it is more mobile-centric." explains Michael Goodman, Director of Television & Media Strategies at research firm Strategy Analytics I think he can be wrong here. It is because it is free my friend. People already pay enough for their phones, internet packages in emerging markets comparing to their monthly salaries. As soon as their income increases, you will be able to see a hike in subscriptions.

josteink 8y ago
> As soon as their income increases, you will be able to see a hike in subscriptions. But that would be youtube pro subscriptions, right? Because they already have all the content they watch there, and just want offline or ad-free. Disclaimer: ditched Netflix, bought YouTube pro.
- whizzkid 8y ago
  I think, It depends. As far as I know YouTube Premium is only for removing ads and music streaming. If there are movies and quality professional content on YouTube Premium, then Youtube will have a bigger advantage since both amateur and professional content creators will be on the same platform. But right now, Netflix is the place to watch most of the desired pro content when it comes to both films and tv series.
  - kkarakk 8y ago
    youtube is rolling out a program where you can pay your favorite creator directly(it's a sponsor button next to subscribe)

suddenstutter 8y ago

Youtube is not even close to being a netflix competitor.

thewhitetulip 8y ago

I hardly think so. Youtube is a casual Netflix. Unless YouTube comes up with epic tv shows it won't be a serious competitor to Netflix. But that being said, Youtube is a den of self made videos like Honest Trailers, how it should have ended. Also sleep can't be a competitor. It is a bad thing if your product is so addictive that people go crazy over it. This is the reaosn why most apps these days let users track their times spent on the app. Because if people are severely addicted, they will not stay addicted for the rest od their lives. They will dump the site. I did the same to Prime, facebook and Instagram.

philliphaydon 8y ago
Cobra kai and impulse were pretty good. But YouTube said they will be investing less in original content recently so I don’t know what will happen with good content like this... Netflix on the other hand every time I think I’ll cancel, comes out with a bunch of new shows to watch and I seem to enjoy.

szastupov 8y ago

I dunno, YouTube's catalog of originals is so tiny it can be watched during free trial. Even if Netflix catalog is smaller outside US it's still huge, originals are great and I'm willing to pay for it.

alecco 8y ago

And they both suck. Netflix content is weak. The catalog outside US is terrible. YouTube ads are annoying yet original content is not worth the price for Premium. At a price point of $12 it's ridiculous. Music catalog is sub-par and not worth the switch from Spotify. Both seem to be more dedicated to push PC propaganda than matching what viewers want. Original content is quite bad save for some exceptions (Wild Wild Country, Cobra Kai). Months ago I canceled my Netflix account and hope some alternative site to YouTube comes up. On the other hand, it was good for me. I've been listening to more audiobooks instead. Money better spent.

setquk 8y ago
Totally agree. I don't go near netflix any more and I watch youtube with youtube-dl + VLC. The only subscription services that actually persists for me is Apple Music. And that's because the catalogue is pretty decent, the price is decent, it mostly just works (unlike Google's offering) and it stops me having to manage my entire family's music which is very time consuming. That has value. Other two, not so much. No more than television.
seqastian 8y ago
Calling Netflix content weak just shows how removed from what content gets released and people watch every day right now. Hint: it's mostly Netflix.
dazc 8y ago
I find it's worth cancelling the subscription from time to time since every three months or so I reach the point where I've seen anything worth paying for. The fact I can do this without any hassle is what I like about Netflix although, I suspect, the cost is low enough that a lot of people don't bother?
baldfat 8y ago
I pay $16 a month for the family YouTube plan and get add free viewing, shut off screen playback, and downloadable videos plus Google Play Music. Best thing I have ever subscribed for.
Buge 8y ago

mymythisisthis 8y ago

Youtube is KING! Even if 99.9999% of the content sucks you still have thousands of great videos. Like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU Matthias Wandel. Scripted shows are terrible. Movies are terrible. Edufun is where it is at. I think that we need more people compiling the best of videos on Youtube.

spookthesunset 8y ago
Sad you get downvoted. I too think YouTube is the future of content consumption. I am perpetually amazed how much reasonably high quality stuff exists on youtube. Damn near 100% of the screen time I have control over is youtube videos. If I was single and living alone, all I would need is youtube.

glenrivard 8y ago

Well personally use both a lot. Like a real lot. Think both can exist together. But do tend to watch more YT then Netflix. If count YT TV in there then a lot more. Highly recommend YT TV.

ryanmercer 8y ago

I used to watch 3-4 hours of Netflix every evening, then I started actually subscribing to YouTube channels and now I have 2ish hours of subscription content to watch every single day of the week. n=1 but I don't doubt it! I even contribute to several via Patreon.

petercooper 8y ago

I watch YouTube a lot compared to any other TV or entertainment. Both TV and Netflix seem to have got obsessed over the idea of the "box set".. dragging a story out to 20 hours+ when I'd rather just get a novel story in a short time and then move on to something else. I just haven't got the time for most shows Netflix considers good nowadays when I can watch lots of 10 minute videos that are more entertaining in a variety of ways.

gwbas1c 8y ago

I'll be honest: I probably watch more Youtube than Netflix. But, and this is a big but: I'll continue paying for Netflix long after I stop paying for Youtube. Why? Netflix is quality content that I watch when I plan on sitting in front of the TV. In contrast, I only watch Youtube for a few minutes here and there. A different analogy is live TV versus a DVD. Youtube is more like live TV: lower-quality, news, commentary, interactive. Netflix is well-produced narratives.

golfer 8y ago
A bigger question is if Netflix can continue to thrive in a world where all the large media companies create their own Netflix-like streaming services. Disney has their own coming soon, apple, Amazon, Facebook, Hulu, Comcast, etc etc. Content costs continue to rise, and competition will be fierce. Netflix has a great head start and knows its audience well. But much larger companies are knocking on its door.
- skohan 8y ago
  IMO Netflix has done well in this regard by transforming themselves into a content company rather than a content delivery service. Recently most of my favorite shows on Netflix have been 1st party titles, and I can't think of another content producer who's output is as varied and as high-quality as Netflix at the moment. Maybe Disney has the IP and the raw muscle to pull this off, but they will have to prove it. I actually think competition is good for the space. As I said, I think Netflix is really good now, but if they became an uncontested monopoly in the streaming space, I would fear that quality would suffer.
  - codq 8y ago
    HBO is infinitely more valuable to me as a producer of quality content. I actually can't remember the last time a Netflix show has brought me as much fulfillment and joy as almost anything on HBO.
koonsolo 8y ago
Good analogy! It even matches with displaying commercials.

quxbar 8y ago

I've quickly become addicted to longform (10+ minute) nonfiction youtube videos, whether it be a comprehensive analysis of Neverwinter Nights or 24 minutes on the advanced features of the laserdisc. Most, if not all of the content creators have Patreon pages, and I even contribute to a few. The content is so niche it's unimaginable that Netflix or any other content behemoth would develop their own version of it.

jjoonathan 8y ago
"You just clicked on a video about making a mostly square block of metal into an even more square block of metal. Just saying." -ThisOldTony
- aequitas 8y ago
  Though describing ThisOldTony as nonfiction is a bit of a stretch ;)
  - jjoonathan 8y ago
    You mean I will never learn how to karate-chop stock in order to break it into a dozen perfectly-machined repeats of the prototype I just made? D:
- simongr3dal 8y ago
  Here's a link to the video being referenced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8HNAlUXxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW8HNAlUXxU ThisOldTony is very entertaining with his machining and dad jokes, I can highly recommend his channel. This video is not a bad starting point.
dbspin 8y ago
Techmoan is an amazingly soothing 'slow tv' channel in this regard.
s0l1dsnak3123 8y ago
I'm exactly the same. Some favourites I've collected over the years: 3Blue1Brown - math essays AlfieAesthetics - Bushcraft, botany and survival skills with some fun english humour mixed in CNLohr - fun hardware hacking livestreams Eliminator Performance - mechanical troubleshooting and maintenance vlogs Engineering Explained - Automotive engineering explainers and mini-lectures FearlessFront - Mechanical engineering, welding, and vehicle hacking How to make everything - multi-skill projects on making things from scratch as much as possible Kurzgesagt - Philosophy and science essays Lie Likes Music - Music essays Mathologer - Advanced (to me) Maths essays Matthew Cremona - Woodworking Matthias Wandel - Woodworking Nativlang - Essays on the history of spoken and written language Nerdwriter1 - Essays on Art, philosophy, and the sciences Nightmare Masterclass - Essays on fringe culture Numberphile - Mini-lectures on Maths Polyphonic - Essays on Music Primitive Technology - Vlogs on primative/ancient building techniques Rick Beato (specifically his "What makes this song great" series) - Essays on what separates iconic music from the rest Strange Parts - Hardware hacking projects, mainly based in Shenzhen, China The Drug Classroom - Scientific essays on recreational drugs This Exists - Essays on cultural oddities and internet culture specficially Uri Tuchman - Very intricate woodworking and engraving Wendover Productions - Video Essays on a variety of subjects including economics, travel, geography Wisecrack - Essays which examine pop culture through a philosophical lens.

jason46 8y ago

I prefer Netflix, unless I need to see a HowTo or a product review. My 6yr old daughter prefers anything on Youtube over Netflix. We also had cable which she wouldn't hardly watch at all so we returned her cable box.

En_gr_Student 8y ago

Maybe the things I sent to Apple, so they could start cutting into YouTube should also be sent to Netflix? :D

Shorel 8y ago

I would watch Youtube a lot more if the ads did not interrupt the video in the worst places. I mean, there are places where there is a scene transition and they are perfect for an ad. And there's the middle of an interesting explanation you don't want to interrupt. Youtube ads always interrupt the flow of the video. In many cases that makes me close the player and do something else. And many channels already have ads as part of their normal content. It seems Youtube has the content, but the huge and obnoxious amount of ads reminds me of old fashioned TV.

mrep 8y ago
Well they do have a paid version which doesn't have ads.
- Shorel 8y ago
  That only applies to the ads from Google, not from content creators themselves. And it is three times more expensive than Netflix where I live. I don't see the value proposition there.
  - spookthesunset 8y ago
    > not from content creators themselves They gotta eat too, you know. Some of the channels I watch cost real cash-money for the creators to produce.
    - Shorel 8y ago
      > They gotta eat too, you know. Some of the channels I watch cost real cash-money for the creators to produce. I can see that. But this means Google model doesn't work for content consumers like me, and it also doesn't work for content creators.
pc86 8y ago
I'm not sure what your music provider is but I pay for Google Play precisely because it includes a completely ad-free YouTube experience. Combine that with my smart TV and I basically just flip back and forth between YouTube and Netflix when I am watching TV. Some of the longer form YouTube content is great on a large television.

thom 8y ago

I watch a fair bit of YouTube personal interest stuff (Magic: the Gathering and Chess channels). Same to a lesser extent with Twitch. I realised while reading this that I don't think I've ever sat down and watched YouTube with my wife. I watch a lot of Netflix stuff with my wife, and it's the only video platform I let my kids have access to. Beyond that, I torrent stuff generously. In my head, I'd probably reflexively claim that I'd never pay for YouTube, but then I'd realise I'm paying almost as much on Patreon to _one_ video creator as I am to Netflix each month. I must admit I've managed to get to this point without ever really thinking these things competed - YouTube is quite personal, Netflix is good for family, and you have to torrent if you want to watch anything new.

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