3 ms·

I think you completely misunderstand what they're trying to do. What you read as a proliferation of crap is really trying to find a 'big hit' in lots of small n

I think you completely misunderstand what they're trying to do. What you read as a proliferation of crap is really trying to find a 'big hit' in lots of small niches. Some niche hits will become crossover success stories, and draw people into new genres, etc. But others will quietly be classics in their small niche, often for being the first serious effort. Of course, Sturgeon's Law is still in effect, so 90% of everything will be crap. But producing non-crap for smaller audiences builds loyalty, which is worth something in the subscriber model. Or at least that's my read of their strategy. There's a real discovery problem that comes with it that I don't think they've solved. But overall it's an interesting approach.

ghaff 5y ago
There was also this element of "We have all this data so we have an unfair advantage over all these studios with pitch meetings." And it seems as if they're just another studio who isn't really in a better position to predict breakout hits than anyone else. Of course, they also license content but that's just about spreading around the dollars from a bag of money. Personally, I find Netflix to be worth the subscription at the moment. But there are a ton of other streaming services and I'm not going to subscribe to them all. And, while I have gone in and out of Netflix' DVD service, the back catalog has sufficiently rotted I don't find it worthwhile.
MBCook 5y ago
No, I understand that. It’s the “throw it all the wall and see what sticks” approach. Network TV does it every year. But Netflix isn’t trying as much stuff as network TV. They seem to be trying as much as all of cable. The problem is at a certain point you ruin all discovery. There is no way to find something new through serendipity. It’s gone next week from the promotion so they can promote 8 other new shows. But that means even if you find it and it’s good it won’t get and audience and will be cancelled. Unless it gets big from something outside Netflix (social media with Squid Game or some other popular but not mega hit shows) it’s a goner. So… why even look at all that stuff? It’s not worth it.
- bradleyankrom 5y ago
  My biggest gripe isn’t that they produce a ton of content that largely doesn’t interest me - it’s that they prioritize it in the interface and force me to wade through all of it in order to get to what I want.
- ihumanable 5y ago
  They also cancel stuff so regularly, it's hard to justify investing time into a show even if you like it because half the time it's getting canceled after a season or two with a shitty cliffhanger as the last episode. When I look back at a lot of my favorite TV shows, many of them took a while to hit their stride. Even universally liked TV shows will have rough starts where people will go, "Yea, you can just sorta skip season 1." Over time you just get used to thinking, "oh, this is a Netflix original on Season 1, I'll wait and see if they make more content" which probably fucks with the viewer numbers and they cancel it.
kemiller 5y ago
We love Great British Bake Off, but the proliferation of horrible knockoffs on Netflix is embarrassing. Just to name one example. They feel crass and paint-by-numbers. I appreciate it when these services take a risk on something weird, but this seems like the exact opposite.
colinmhayes 5y ago
I think you've hit the nail on the head with their strategy. The problem is that when 80% of the stuff they create is content that there is no chance I'd enjoy I'd prefer to just go to a streaming service that focuses on the content I want to consume. Netflix's strategy works when they have a tech advantage, but now that there are other players in the game Netflix is too expensive for the amount of content they create for each person to enjoy. They only way to justify it is to split between like 5-10 people imo, which they are trying to crack down on.
the_omegist 5y ago
Disclaimer: don't have Netflix and never plan to, but watched some of their productions, like everyone. No, it's objectively crap. I hate romcoms or horror movies but I can distinguish between the quality that was put in making them (objective) vs how much they affect me (subjective). And even nostalgia aside, they produce only crap. Nearly all Netflix production is low quality. As for the "many niches": well they all are sub-niches of the same small niche(s) because I don't see any show or movie that is not either targeted for teens, women or some (usually the same) ethnic group.

ghaff 5y ago

There was also this element of "We have all this data so we have an unfair advantage over all these studios with pitch meetings." And it seems as if they're just another studio who isn't really in a better position to predict breakout hits than anyone else. Of course, they also license content but that's just about spreading around the dollars from a bag of money. Personally, I find Netflix to be worth the subscription at the moment. But there are a ton of other streaming services and I'm not going to subscribe to them all. And, while I have gone in and out of Netflix' DVD service, the back catalog has sufficiently rotted I don't find it worthwhile.

MBCook 5y ago

No, I understand that. It’s the “throw it all the wall and see what sticks” approach. Network TV does it every year. But Netflix isn’t trying as much stuff as network TV. They seem to be trying as much as all of cable. The problem is at a certain point you ruin all discovery. There is no way to find something new through serendipity. It’s gone next week from the promotion so they can promote 8 other new shows. But that means even if you find it and it’s good it won’t get and audience and will be cancelled. Unless it gets big from something outside Netflix (social media with Squid Game or some other popular but not mega hit shows) it’s a goner. So… why even look at all that stuff? It’s not worth it.

bradleyankrom 5y ago
My biggest gripe isn’t that they produce a ton of content that largely doesn’t interest me - it’s that they prioritize it in the interface and force me to wade through all of it in order to get to what I want.
ihumanable 5y ago
They also cancel stuff so regularly, it's hard to justify investing time into a show even if you like it because half the time it's getting canceled after a season or two with a shitty cliffhanger as the last episode. When I look back at a lot of my favorite TV shows, many of them took a while to hit their stride. Even universally liked TV shows will have rough starts where people will go, "Yea, you can just sorta skip season 1." Over time you just get used to thinking, "oh, this is a Netflix original on Season 1, I'll wait and see if they make more content" which probably fucks with the viewer numbers and they cancel it.

kemiller 5y ago

We love Great British Bake Off, but the proliferation of horrible knockoffs on Netflix is embarrassing. Just to name one example. They feel crass and paint-by-numbers. I appreciate it when these services take a risk on something weird, but this seems like the exact opposite.

colinmhayes 5y ago

I think you've hit the nail on the head with their strategy. The problem is that when 80% of the stuff they create is content that there is no chance I'd enjoy I'd prefer to just go to a streaming service that focuses on the content I want to consume. Netflix's strategy works when they have a tech advantage, but now that there are other players in the game Netflix is too expensive for the amount of content they create for each person to enjoy. They only way to justify it is to split between like 5-10 people imo, which they are trying to crack down on.

the_omegist 5y ago

Disclaimer: don't have Netflix and never plan to, but watched some of their productions, like everyone. No, it's objectively crap. I hate romcoms or horror movies but I can distinguish between the quality that was put in making them (objective) vs how much they affect me (subjective). And even nostalgia aside, they produce only crap. Nearly all Netflix production is low quality. As for the "many niches": well they all are sub-niches of the same small niche(s) because I don't see any show or movie that is not either targeted for teens, women or some (usually the same) ethnic group.