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I think people preferred Netflix being the only game in town simply because then if it wasn’t on Netflix you could mostly discard it, not that there wasn’t grea

I think people preferred Netflix being the only game in town simply because then if it wasn’t on Netflix you could mostly discard it, not that there wasn’t great content not on Netflix. It’s the tomato sauce choice fallacy - many people will be quite happy just having one, as compared to having 50 because then you can’t be happy with your choice because you’ll be wondering about the other ones. In the end - just pick a tomato sauce and try not to think about it too hard. If you don’t like it, pick a different one next time.

Mindwipe 7y ago
> I think people preferred Netflix being the only game in town simply because then if it wasn’t on Netflix you could mostly discard it HN really does not understand that it does not live in a mainstream demographic, does it? This wasn't ever true. Ever.
croon 7y ago
> It’s the tomato sauce choice fallacy I strongly disagree with this. Netflix previously had much more diverse content. It's currently (as of the last few years) banking on that their own content will substitute the licensed content disappearing on their platform. That The Witcher will satiate your Game of Thrones itch, that "superhero show #1" will be good enough over whatever Disney/Marvel puts on Disney+. This might work for a few people, but I believe/hope it won't work for most. Chatting about the latest episode of Twin Peaks or the new Nolan movie by the water cooler doesn't work with a pale substitute. The entire premise of the linked article is based on that cable packages survived and thrived as more players entered the market, and so should streaming services. What it ignores is that "alternative sources"/piracy didn't exist at the time, and does now. People will pay for as many services as they're comfortable with and with as much hassle as they can handle switching apps, and no more. They should take a hint from music streaming platforms, and let the services compete, and spread the content over all of them, otherwise they will face the reality that people will pirate their service while paying for others. Sorry for the long rant Signed / Multiple service subscriber
pnutjam 7y ago
Netflix had a simple model, sell videos. Many of these other services are selling you to advertisers. Streaming is awful when it includes ads.

Mindwipe 7y ago

> I think people preferred Netflix being the only game in town simply because then if it wasn’t on Netflix you could mostly discard it HN really does not understand that it does not live in a mainstream demographic, does it? This wasn't ever true. Ever.

croon 7y ago

> It’s the tomato sauce choice fallacy I strongly disagree with this. Netflix previously had much more diverse content. It's currently (as of the last few years) banking on that their own content will substitute the licensed content disappearing on their platform. That The Witcher will satiate your Game of Thrones itch, that "superhero show #1" will be good enough over whatever Disney/Marvel puts on Disney+. This might work for a few people, but I believe/hope it won't work for most. Chatting about the latest episode of Twin Peaks or the new Nolan movie by the water cooler doesn't work with a pale substitute. The entire premise of the linked article is based on that cable packages survived and thrived as more players entered the market, and so should streaming services. What it ignores is that "alternative sources"/piracy didn't exist at the time, and does now. People will pay for as many services as they're comfortable with and with as much hassle as they can handle switching apps, and no more. They should take a hint from music streaming platforms, and let the services compete, and spread the content over all of them, otherwise they will face the reality that people will pirate their service while paying for others. Sorry for the long rant Signed / Multiple service subscriber

pnutjam 7y ago

Netflix had a simple model, sell videos. Many of these other services are selling you to advertisers. Streaming is awful when it includes ads.