4 ms·

While I agree with the main thrust of the article (Chesterton's fence, etc.), the author seems to take as a given the fact that Netflix is sliding back into bec

While I agree with the main thrust of the article (Chesterton's fence, etc.), the author seems to take as a given the fact that Netflix is sliding back into becoming as expensive as cable, because the content providers are setting the prices. But Netflix's value is not from competing against cable on price, it's competing against piracy on convenience. Content providers will never again see the same profits, because the de-facto price of content is zero. It's too easy to pirate, and morally grey enough that people are willing to do it. Netflix got so big because it captured the market of people who were willing to pay for the convenience. If this gets too high they will just go back to pirating.

nemothekid 6y ago
I’m not sure if that’s a given. People going back to piracy sort of assumes people will happily walk back to watching sketchy streams on laptop screens. I think the bar will pretty high for people who wish to watch on Apple Devices, Rokus or Smart TVs. There has been enough time for people to get locked into walled gardens.
- asdff 6y ago
  Piracy in 2020 is more polished than first party streaming platforms.
  - p1necone 6y ago
    Not going to link anything here, but certain PLEX/freeNAS plugins can basically let you make your own Netflix, complete with slick UI, but all the content. However most people don't have the requisite knowledge to set all of this up, so I would agree with the other commenter that the majority are probably still going to just go to sketchy streaming sites.
  - nemothekid 6y ago
    I think content acquisition still has several hurdles as well as the pipelines of your favorite metadata scraper isn't exactly trivial to setup. The actual software, once installed is really nice (I have a Plex Server + Infuse on an Apple TV), but in my case I still pay for content (via usenet).
    - asdff 6y ago
      There is software that has already done this for you, no need to configure anything, just open the app, search the title, and start watching.
  - Can_Not 6y ago
    Piracy in 2010 was more polished than 2020's first party streaming platforms.
- pochamago 6y ago
  We already saw measurable piracy spike in response to the sudden influx of streaming services splitting desirable content among several platforms. If anything, it's more of a danger as the generations paying for media are more comfortable than ever with the concept and willing to return to it if there are too many obstacles to conveniently finding what you want to watch.

nemothekid 6y ago

I’m not sure if that’s a given. People going back to piracy sort of assumes people will happily walk back to watching sketchy streams on laptop screens. I think the bar will pretty high for people who wish to watch on Apple Devices, Rokus or Smart TVs. There has been enough time for people to get locked into walled gardens.

asdff 6y ago
Piracy in 2020 is more polished than first party streaming platforms.
- p1necone 6y ago
  Not going to link anything here, but certain PLEX/freeNAS plugins can basically let you make your own Netflix, complete with slick UI, but all the content. However most people don't have the requisite knowledge to set all of this up, so I would agree with the other commenter that the majority are probably still going to just go to sketchy streaming sites.
- nemothekid 6y ago
  I think content acquisition still has several hurdles as well as the pipelines of your favorite metadata scraper isn't exactly trivial to setup. The actual software, once installed is really nice (I have a Plex Server + Infuse on an Apple TV), but in my case I still pay for content (via usenet).
  - asdff 6y ago
    There is software that has already done this for you, no need to configure anything, just open the app, search the title, and start watching.
- Can_Not 6y ago
  Piracy in 2010 was more polished than 2020's first party streaming platforms.
pochamago 6y ago
We already saw measurable piracy spike in response to the sudden influx of streaming services splitting desirable content among several platforms. If anything, it's more of a danger as the generations paying for media are more comfortable than ever with the concept and willing to return to it if there are too many obstacles to conveniently finding what you want to watch.