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Services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be a lot more successful if only their catalogs in regions outside of the US would be comparable to their

Services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video would be a lot more successful if only their catalogs in regions outside of the US would be comparable to their home turf. If US clients would have the tiny tiny catalogs they offer e.g. in most of Europe, you would also be scratching your head how this could ever justify the subscription cost.

close04 7y ago
The major difference is that the EU does not behave like a unified body when it comes to purchasing the distribution rights. So Netflix negotiates with each country individually. Unless you share it with family so more people get value out of it, it is indeed hard to justify the subscription for many people. Edit: > make the shows and movies available on servers in Canada Is this a real protection against getting caught? I would have imagined Russia or the Ukraine to be better options for being outside of the reach of the FBI.
- PeterStuer 7y ago
  Archaic distribution rights are indeed to blame. But this still leaves most of the world in an impasse with regards to a credible legal media streaming option for film and television. (I am a Youtube Premium and an Amazon Prime subscriber btw)
kgwxd 7y ago
Is the price cheaper in regions where the catalog is slim?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- icebraining 7y ago
  No, there's no direct relationship: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/countries-netflix-cost/ https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/countries-netfl...
anongraddebt 7y ago
I just got back from vacationing in Greece and Croatia. Though I can't say whether the number of movies was higher or lower than in the states, I can say that the quality of films was much higher. Both my girlfriend and I complained multiple times that the movies we were watching in Europe were not available to us in the states.
- magduf 7y ago
  Such movies would not be profitable in the US. Americans have no interest in those. Of course, with digital distribution, the cost of actually making them available in the US should be extremely low, so it should still be profitable given there's a very small number of Americans who would watch them, surely more than the puny number who watch crappy old B-grade movies that are now available on YouTube. So I'm not sure why they don't bother.
  - anongraddebt 7y ago
    Most of the movies were ones you could rent off of Amazon Prime here in the states.
mywittyname 7y ago
Could you imagine how great these services would be if copyrighted works fell into the public domain after 28 years instead of the nearly 100 years they are now?
- jessaustin 7y ago
  Sure, but in that case most current films would never have been made... or at least I got that distinct impression from MPAA.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    It is in their benefit to claim that, regardless of the truth of the statement. Why would one trust a biased party such as MPAA?
    - eikenberry 7y ago
      I believe they were being sarcastic. No one would take the MPAA's word on something like this, they have an obvious bias.
  - behringer 7y ago
    Which films exactly took 28 years to turn a profit?
    - umvi 7y ago
      That's not the point. Valve turned a huge profit on Portal 2. Yet they refuse to make Portal 3. Why? Because compared to Steam, Portal 2 generates a tiny ROI by comparison. Option A: invest $1 in Steam and get $10 back Option B: invest $1 in Portal 3 and get $2 back which do you do? Same goes for movie industry. A movie promises returns for decades as it is milked and re-released in various formats. If the movie can only make money for 20-ish years, ROI goes down significantly. Read: "The Disney Vault" [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault
pingyong 7y ago
Just yesterday I read something about the show "White Collar" and checked it out on Amazon Prime Germany. In German language it is available for free. I like to watch shows in their original language though. English costs 4€ per episode. Alright then, torrent it is.
thayne 7y ago
I know it isn't quite as bad, but in the US, many European (or other foreign) are practically impossible to watch legally. Streaming services don't stream them, and dvds and blu rays are region-locked.
- blacksmith_tb 7y ago
  Your local public library system may provide you with access to Kanopy[1] which has a good catalog of European films, along with other interesting titles not found on the paid services. 1: https://www.kanopy.com/ https://www.kanopy.com/
grammarxcore 7y ago
Frankly the cost in the US isn't necessarily worth it anymore. I've been a Netflix user since 2008/2009. Back when no one took VoD seriously, the catalogue was huge. You could actually get lost trying to find something because there was so much good content. Now, with every company attempting to cash in on their own platform, choices on a single platform are very, very limited. I've also noticed that many titles are shared between Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon so the illusion of choice is really just that. I think original titles and foreign distribution (ie getting content from not your nation) are quickly becoming the only differences. That's what cable was when I moved away. I have, quite honestly, consumed everything I'm incredibly interested in on the majors. None of them turn out originals fast enough to keep my interest and new/returning content comes in a trickle so I've recently turned to just buying old shows I like and watching those. It's just like the nineties/aughties all over but without the hope of what was then cable cutting.
boring_twenties 7y ago
I'm in the US and currently scratching my head as to why the hell I haven't canceled my subscription years ago. For as long as I can remember now, every Netflix experience boils down to spending 15-30 minutes looking for something remotely interesting before finally giving up and reading a book or playing a video game instead. I'm not sure how much of the problem is them not having enough content, versus just their (at least on Android) godawful UI making it impossible to find, but the end result is the same.

close04 7y ago

The major difference is that the EU does not behave like a unified body when it comes to purchasing the distribution rights. So Netflix negotiates with each country individually. Unless you share it with family so more people get value out of it, it is indeed hard to justify the subscription for many people. Edit: > make the shows and movies available on servers in Canada Is this a real protection against getting caught? I would have imagined Russia or the Ukraine to be better options for being outside of the reach of the FBI.

PeterStuer 7y ago
Archaic distribution rights are indeed to blame. But this still leaves most of the world in an impasse with regards to a credible legal media streaming option for film and television. (I am a Youtube Premium and an Amazon Prime subscriber btw)

kgwxd 7y ago

Is the price cheaper in regions where the catalog is slim?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
icebraining 7y ago
No, there's no direct relationship: https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/countries-netflix-cost/ https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/countries-netfl...

anongraddebt 7y ago

I just got back from vacationing in Greece and Croatia. Though I can't say whether the number of movies was higher or lower than in the states, I can say that the quality of films was much higher. Both my girlfriend and I complained multiple times that the movies we were watching in Europe were not available to us in the states.

magduf 7y ago
Such movies would not be profitable in the US. Americans have no interest in those. Of course, with digital distribution, the cost of actually making them available in the US should be extremely low, so it should still be profitable given there's a very small number of Americans who would watch them, surely more than the puny number who watch crappy old B-grade movies that are now available on YouTube. So I'm not sure why they don't bother.
- anongraddebt 7y ago
  Most of the movies were ones you could rent off of Amazon Prime here in the states.

mywittyname 7y ago

Could you imagine how great these services would be if copyrighted works fell into the public domain after 28 years instead of the nearly 100 years they are now?

jessaustin 7y ago
Sure, but in that case most current films would never have been made... or at least I got that distinct impression from MPAA.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  It is in their benefit to claim that, regardless of the truth of the statement. Why would one trust a biased party such as MPAA?
  - eikenberry 7y ago
    I believe they were being sarcastic. No one would take the MPAA's word on something like this, they have an obvious bias.
- behringer 7y ago
  Which films exactly took 28 years to turn a profit?
  - umvi 7y ago
    That's not the point. Valve turned a huge profit on Portal 2. Yet they refuse to make Portal 3. Why? Because compared to Steam, Portal 2 generates a tiny ROI by comparison. Option A: invest $1 in Steam and get $10 back Option B: invest $1 in Portal 3 and get $2 back which do you do? Same goes for movie industry. A movie promises returns for decades as it is milked and re-released in various formats. If the movie can only make money for 20-ish years, ROI goes down significantly. Read: "The Disney Vault" [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault

pingyong 7y ago

Just yesterday I read something about the show "White Collar" and checked it out on Amazon Prime Germany. In German language it is available for free. I like to watch shows in their original language though. English costs 4€ per episode. Alright then, torrent it is.

thayne 7y ago

I know it isn't quite as bad, but in the US, many European (or other foreign) are practically impossible to watch legally. Streaming services don't stream them, and dvds and blu rays are region-locked.

blacksmith_tb 7y ago
Your local public library system may provide you with access to Kanopy[1] which has a good catalog of European films, along with other interesting titles not found on the paid services. 1: https://www.kanopy.com/ https://www.kanopy.com/

grammarxcore 7y ago

Frankly the cost in the US isn't necessarily worth it anymore. I've been a Netflix user since 2008/2009. Back when no one took VoD seriously, the catalogue was huge. You could actually get lost trying to find something because there was so much good content. Now, with every company attempting to cash in on their own platform, choices on a single platform are very, very limited. I've also noticed that many titles are shared between Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon so the illusion of choice is really just that. I think original titles and foreign distribution (ie getting content from not your nation) are quickly becoming the only differences. That's what cable was when I moved away. I have, quite honestly, consumed everything I'm incredibly interested in on the majors. None of them turn out originals fast enough to keep my interest and new/returning content comes in a trickle so I've recently turned to just buying old shows I like and watching those. It's just like the nineties/aughties all over but without the hope of what was then cable cutting.

boring_twenties 7y ago

I'm in the US and currently scratching my head as to why the hell I haven't canceled my subscription years ago. For as long as I can remember now, every Netflix experience boils down to spending 15-30 minutes looking for something remotely interesting before finally giving up and reading a book or playing a video game instead. I'm not sure how much of the problem is them not having enough content, versus just their (at least on Android) godawful UI making it impossible to find, but the end result is the same.