4 ms·

What's ironic to me is (IMO) Netflix is probably the shrewdest big company in existence now. Hastings has dominated not one but two markets, the second obviousl

What's ironic to me is (IMO) Netflix is probably the shrewdest big company in existence now. Hastings has dominated not one but two markets, the second obviously larger and more insurmountable than the first. Almost Every single decision they make (including and especially ones that make customers unhappy, like their shitty browsing experience) seems so calculated and thoughtful it's just amazing. Even I thought Disney plus might be the beginning of the end for Netflix, that it finally met a Goliath it couldn't best, but now even that isnt obvious anymore.

quickthrower2 6y ago
Meh, Netflix is one of many for me. Would be happy if it didn't exist, to watch other stuff on other streaming and I don't think they necessarily have the best content. Netflix try's to get you hooked on their originals, but the problem with that is once you binged a series you want something else - they cant keep feeding you the crack that is that current series because they take months to produce, so you switch to something else - and at that point it could be something else on Netflix, or just as easily something else somewhere else. I don't think Netflix is really that sticky. But maybe I am proving the point of the article and I'm missing the strategy.
- atian 6y ago
  The fact that you're on it is 90% of the strategy.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ramraj07 6y ago
  Exactly. We all keep talking about leaving Netflix but it looks like we aren't. How long has Netflix now been without major movies? Clearly whatever they're doing works - from my ground-level experience, everyone has at least a couple of shows that they like watching in Netflix, and everyone shares accounts as well so in the end it's a few dollars a month for always having a backup service with a lot of "meh" titles at the least. Perhaps that's what the company is gunning for? Perhaps they noticed that the crowd that sees Adam Sandler movies is the main market and they don't necessarily need to pander to "sophisticated" audience to be a successful company? Who knows. It just looks mindful, minimally, where they're trying to chart out a path that they CAN do, given all their constraints (mainly every major IP now being protected by their parent for their own streaming service).
tonyedgecombe 6y ago
Disney plus is different, great if you have young kids but slim pickings for adults. There isn't a huge overlap with Netflix.
- mcv 6y ago
  It fills a gap in Netflix. Netflix is great at annoying kids' stuff and great at heavy 16+ stuff, but not so good at stuff that's fun for the whole family[0]. Pixar has tons of that. [0] Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events is a rare exception that I strongly recommend to anyone who is or has ever been a kid.
leonroy 6y ago
> Even I thought Disney plus might be the beginning of the end for Netflix, that it finally met a Goliath it couldn't best, but now even that isnt obvious anymore. I think Disney painted themselves in a corner buying every studio and putting it under the Disney banner. Disney have long stood for family values programming which is never edgy or pushes the envelope. That was the reason behind Touchstone and the purchase of Miramax (and prob a few other Disney owned subsidiaries I've forgotten) to push out adult centric content and keep it separate from the Disney = family-friendly marquee. The Disney brand today is this monolithic umbrella brand and with all their streaming content going under the Disney+ channel it's going to be hard for people to cognitiviely disassociate the brand from the content. For example who's going to think I fancy watching Pulp Fiction tonight, let me see if it's on Disney+....
- Kye 6y ago
  They know this and have a way around it. Disney holds a controlling majority of Hulu. That's why they push the Disney+/Hulu+/ESPN+ combo so hard and put all the edgier stuff on Hulu. You can watch Pulp Fiction on Hulu with the Starz add-on. Hulu is their big aggregation play.
  - pkroll 6y ago
    Just to be pedantic: Disney owns Hulu entirely, now, they bought out Comcast (and got Fox's share when they bought Fox). https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/14/disney-bought-hulu-whats-mean-cord-cutters-binge-watchers/3665629002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/14/disney-b...

quickthrower2 6y ago

Meh, Netflix is one of many for me. Would be happy if it didn't exist, to watch other stuff on other streaming and I don't think they necessarily have the best content. Netflix try's to get you hooked on their originals, but the problem with that is once you binged a series you want something else - they cant keep feeding you the crack that is that current series because they take months to produce, so you switch to something else - and at that point it could be something else on Netflix, or just as easily something else somewhere else. I don't think Netflix is really that sticky. But maybe I am proving the point of the article and I'm missing the strategy.

atian 6y ago
The fact that you're on it is 90% of the strategy.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ramraj07 6y ago
Exactly. We all keep talking about leaving Netflix but it looks like we aren't. How long has Netflix now been without major movies? Clearly whatever they're doing works - from my ground-level experience, everyone has at least a couple of shows that they like watching in Netflix, and everyone shares accounts as well so in the end it's a few dollars a month for always having a backup service with a lot of "meh" titles at the least. Perhaps that's what the company is gunning for? Perhaps they noticed that the crowd that sees Adam Sandler movies is the main market and they don't necessarily need to pander to "sophisticated" audience to be a successful company? Who knows. It just looks mindful, minimally, where they're trying to chart out a path that they CAN do, given all their constraints (mainly every major IP now being protected by their parent for their own streaming service).

tonyedgecombe 6y ago

Disney plus is different, great if you have young kids but slim pickings for adults. There isn't a huge overlap with Netflix.

mcv 6y ago
It fills a gap in Netflix. Netflix is great at annoying kids' stuff and great at heavy 16+ stuff, but not so good at stuff that's fun for the whole family[0]. Pixar has tons of that. [0] Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events is a rare exception that I strongly recommend to anyone who is or has ever been a kid.

leonroy 6y ago

> Even I thought Disney plus might be the beginning of the end for Netflix, that it finally met a Goliath it couldn't best, but now even that isnt obvious anymore. I think Disney painted themselves in a corner buying every studio and putting it under the Disney banner. Disney have long stood for family values programming which is never edgy or pushes the envelope. That was the reason behind Touchstone and the purchase of Miramax (and prob a few other Disney owned subsidiaries I've forgotten) to push out adult centric content and keep it separate from the Disney = family-friendly marquee. The Disney brand today is this monolithic umbrella brand and with all their streaming content going under the Disney+ channel it's going to be hard for people to cognitiviely disassociate the brand from the content. For example who's going to think I fancy watching Pulp Fiction tonight, let me see if it's on Disney+....

Kye 6y ago
They know this and have a way around it. Disney holds a controlling majority of Hulu. That's why they push the Disney+/Hulu+/ESPN+ combo so hard and put all the edgier stuff on Hulu. You can watch Pulp Fiction on Hulu with the Starz add-on. Hulu is their big aggregation play.
- pkroll 6y ago
  Just to be pedantic: Disney owns Hulu entirely, now, they bought out Comcast (and got Fox's share when they bought Fox). https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/14/disney-bought-hulu-whats-mean-cord-cutters-binge-watchers/3665629002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2019/05/14/disney-b...