The way I see it, Netflix is like a negotiator on the side of viewers. The job they have chosen for themselves is to make the biggest pile of content they can,

The way I see it, Netflix is like a negotiator on the side of viewers. The job they have chosen for themselves is to make the biggest pile of content they can, and charge for access to the pile. So, in a real sense, they are working for the people that want access to the pile. This is part of why Netflix customers get a personal sort of attachment to the service, it feels like they are on "our side" (or at least, the interests and incentives line up). This is seen for me in a few things. Media type was/is irrelevant; whatever the group of people paying to see the pile want is what the will try to do. Service above and beyond the strict terms of contract. I can't be the only person to whom this has happened: the next disc on my queue was found in Netflix's system, but very far across the country. So they sent that one, but knowing it wouldn't arrive in the usual prompt time frame, they also sent the next one at no extra charge. I don't know of any contractual terms that forced them to do that. Producers, distributors, and advertisers have long had a seat at the negotiations table in the media world. I feel like Netflix has taken the role of being the viewers' representative at that table, and they are doing very well in that role. No wonder old media companies don't care for them much.