4 ms·

I don't get why they don't just slowly ramp up this model to figure out how and if it works. I assume Netflix has troves of data on viewer preferences and what

I don't get why they don't just slowly ramp up this model to figure out how and if it works. I assume Netflix has troves of data on viewer preferences and what types of shows would work. Apple is just dumping half of Netflix's budget blindly into a bunch of shows.

symfoniq 7y ago
I will be canceling Netflix in November. But it will be in favor of Disney+, not AppleTV+.
MBCook 7y ago
I suppose they know what people buy in the iTunes Store. That’s something.
- chrischen 7y ago
  I woulds say that people buying things in itunes stores is << Netflix views and ratings.
  - eridius 7y ago
    Why? When people buy things in the iTunes Store it means they think it's actually worth money. Once you have a Netflix subscription, watching shows there is free, so views is a signal of interest but not a great signal of whether the viewer meaningfully values the show.
    - chrischen 7y ago
      Just anecdotally I know about 0 people who buy things off iTunes, and maybe 20-30 people who watch Netflix regularly. Just because 1 out of 100 people spend $5 to buy something on iTunes in a blue moon does not make the data source any stronger than say 100 episodes watched on Netflix in the same period, not to mention voluntary thumb ups/downs.
    - skinnymuch 7y ago
      Lots of diversity with who watches Netflix. Not as much with iTunes visual media buying.
      - eridius 7y ago
        What's your source on diversity of people who buy things on iTunes?
dragonwriter 7y ago
Because they already know if and, to a certain extent, how it works: “if”: yes, “how”: throw lots of money at original content as a necessary (though perhaps not sufficient) requirement. That's been proven already. There's no toe dangling opportunity unless you can completely own a niche and scale up, and even that would be a relatively unproven approach.
- michaelt 7y ago
  There was a time when people were impressed by Netflix's data-driven commissioning [1] which let them commission House of Cards without even seeing a pilot episode, because their data told them a gritty political thriller with Kevin Spacey was a sure winner. This is what chrischen means by "I assume Netflix has troves of data on viewer preferences and what types of shows would work." Compared to a few years ago the praise of Netflix no longer seems so effusive - whether because Netflix's stream of winning shows has dried up, or because hiring Kevin Spacey no longer seems so clever. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/23/netflix-viewer-data-house-of-cards https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/23/netflix-viewer...
mrtksn 7y ago
I’m not sure that the data processing is an absolute winner. It quite often results into “more from the same” and disable the ability to generate masterpieces. Maybe the humanity is not ready to be hooked into an entertainment computer that generates the infinite amount from the stuff that people like. Maybe there’s still space for artists and creative people.
ryan-allen 7y ago
All they have to do is put the Helvetica documentary in and they'll make a fortune! I joke, the whole thing of paying 100/mo for a cable provider versus 10/mo for Netflix is slowly catching up. I already have 4 subscriptions that are nearing to half the local cable offering (albeit Australia is chock full of ads), and more are coming? It will be an interesting space to watch over the next few years.
Mindwipe 7y ago
It doesn't say $6 billion pa. Just that it has commitments to that effect. Might well be $6 billion over three years. Which is a seventh of Netflix's spend. The streaming market is spend big or go home, and to be honest the biggest issue Apple has is that investment seems rather small so far.
greedo 7y ago
Creating good movies/series is far more than just having a lot of user preference data. Hollywood has been doing this for decades and still most movies fail. Netflix has had some good hits and some duds. Apple might, but data isn't very valuable.

symfoniq 7y ago

I will be canceling Netflix in November. But it will be in favor of Disney+, not AppleTV+.

MBCook 7y ago

I suppose they know what people buy in the iTunes Store. That’s something.

chrischen 7y ago
I woulds say that people buying things in itunes stores is << Netflix views and ratings.
- eridius 7y ago
  Why? When people buy things in the iTunes Store it means they think it's actually worth money. Once you have a Netflix subscription, watching shows there is free, so views is a signal of interest but not a great signal of whether the viewer meaningfully values the show.
  - chrischen 7y ago
    Just anecdotally I know about 0 people who buy things off iTunes, and maybe 20-30 people who watch Netflix regularly. Just because 1 out of 100 people spend $5 to buy something on iTunes in a blue moon does not make the data source any stronger than say 100 episodes watched on Netflix in the same period, not to mention voluntary thumb ups/downs.
  - skinnymuch 7y ago
    Lots of diversity with who watches Netflix. Not as much with iTunes visual media buying.
    - eridius 7y ago
      What's your source on diversity of people who buy things on iTunes?

dragonwriter 7y ago

Because they already know if and, to a certain extent, how it works: “if”: yes, “how”: throw lots of money at original content as a necessary (though perhaps not sufficient) requirement. That's been proven already. There's no toe dangling opportunity unless you can completely own a niche and scale up, and even that would be a relatively unproven approach.

michaelt 7y ago
There was a time when people were impressed by Netflix's data-driven commissioning [1] which let them commission House of Cards without even seeing a pilot episode, because their data told them a gritty political thriller with Kevin Spacey was a sure winner. This is what chrischen means by "I assume Netflix has troves of data on viewer preferences and what types of shows would work." Compared to a few years ago the praise of Netflix no longer seems so effusive - whether because Netflix's stream of winning shows has dried up, or because hiring Kevin Spacey no longer seems so clever. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/23/netflix-viewer-data-house-of-cards https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/23/netflix-viewer...

mrtksn 7y ago

I’m not sure that the data processing is an absolute winner. It quite often results into “more from the same” and disable the ability to generate masterpieces. Maybe the humanity is not ready to be hooked into an entertainment computer that generates the infinite amount from the stuff that people like. Maybe there’s still space for artists and creative people.

ryan-allen 7y ago

All they have to do is put the Helvetica documentary in and they'll make a fortune! I joke, the whole thing of paying 100/mo for a cable provider versus 10/mo for Netflix is slowly catching up. I already have 4 subscriptions that are nearing to half the local cable offering (albeit Australia is chock full of ads), and more are coming? It will be an interesting space to watch over the next few years.

Mindwipe 7y ago

It doesn't say $6 billion pa. Just that it has commitments to that effect. Might well be $6 billion over three years. Which is a seventh of Netflix's spend. The streaming market is spend big or go home, and to be honest the biggest issue Apple has is that investment seems rather small so far.

greedo 7y ago

Creating good movies/series is far more than just having a lot of user preference data. Hollywood has been doing this for decades and still most movies fail. Netflix has had some good hits and some duds. Apple might, but data isn't very valuable.