4 ms·

This has been amazing to watch unfold. Netflix after canceling all of its best shows during a period when piracy has never been easier: "Let's start doing ads!

This has been amazing to watch unfold. Netflix after canceling all of its best shows during a period when piracy has never been easier: "Let's start doing ads!" I wonder if anybody at Netflix has seen the UX of popular streaming apps like (now defunct I believe) terrarium and its successors. They're easier to use, just as fast as Netflix, have much larger libraries, allow DRM-free downloads, ad-free, no algorithmic spam, etc. It is incredible that when faced with that as another consumer option they've gone for "severely degrade user experience" as the strategy. At this point, some vulture private equity firm should just take them private and sell it for parts. Clearly they've spent far too much time being the biggest player and have completely disconnected from what their customers want.

judge2020 4y ago
> canceling all of its best shows Care to list? Most of the loss of shows I see are from studios pulling them off Netflix to make them exclusive to their own streaming service - a bunch of Disney stuff is now Hulu or D+ only for instance.
- johnchristopher 4y ago
  https://decider.com/list/canceled-netflix-original-shows/ https://decider.com/list/canceled-netflix-original-shows/ Personally I am still not over the cancellation of Sense8 and The Oa.
- MillenialGran 4y ago
  Ozark, Stranger Things, Grace and Frankie are all wrapping up. Archive 51 was great and very well received and cancelled immediately. Right now there's kind of a shortage of Netflix-unique good shows. I'm not spending money that I worked for in exchange for... a nature documentary narrated by Obama. Derry Girls is great but you can watch it months in advance on All4 with a dirt cheap VPN. There is a similar situation for Bodyguard. They are expecting people to actually sign up (instead of sharing passwords lmao) and watch ads for the off chance that in a year or two maybe Squid Game season 2 is as good as season 1, or that they need to not miss out on Red Notice 2 and 3. It feels like they are literally betting that people need forgettable Gal Gadot movies in the same way that they need cigarettes.
  - beckler 4y ago
    I'm mostly bitter about Santa Clarita Diet being cancelled, but these were some other shows I enjoyed that were also cancelled: The OA, GLOW, I Am Not Okay with This, Teenage Bounty Hunters, Daybreak.
    - MillenialGran 4y ago
      Canceling GLOW was one of the first indicators that nobody in charge at Netflix appears to actually watch Netflix shows. Did they ever clarify exactly why it was cancelled? I remember reading that the cast and crew wanted one more season to finally wrap up the story, and the fans DEFINITELY wanted another season so... ?
    - Rapzid 4y ago
      Yeah, GLOW was great fun. Shows rapping up is good. Cancelled early no good.
- mike00632 4y ago
  The Dark Crystal, Travelers
  - MillenialGran 4y ago
    Travelers was great! I would have loved another couple seasons!
ripe 4y ago
I agree with your point that Netflix UX is terrible. But what do you mean "canceling all of its best shows"? It's not Netflix's fault if the studios pulled their licenses for their content, for their own streaming services.
- saurik 4y ago
  When I read that phrase I presume they mean Netflix's first-party content, not content being licensed.
Ataraxic 4y ago
I think it's not just canceling their "best" shows. They have lots of data on what people watch. Rather I'd say that when you cancel shows people love whether or not they have great ratings you're creating a lot of brand damage that is not accounted for. I think this latest price increase really tipped that over the edge for plenty of people that weren't getting much use from Netflix. Price increases bring increased scrutiny on the value of the service compared to just hiding as a monthly $15 charge or so amongst a sea of subscriptions that products are sold as. This is anecdotal but this is my experience. I used to love Netflix and though maybe they didn't have the most shows they had shows I realllllly wanted to watch. Now? There is so little that I care about and the positive brand sentiment is gone. Great shows that I became attached to were canceled so regularly that I am truly not interested in investing time into their shows. Not all shows should go on forever but then you might as well commit to making everything a limited 2 season series and be honest about it. I actually canceled Netflix and had not had it for a year before the pandemic (where I gave in) but I think many people in this economic environment are finding it easier to give up a TV subscription to a company that produces _mostly_, mediocrity. It truly has been interesting to watch a giant brand so committed to their own internal analytics that they've lost so much of their brand reputation.

judge2020 4y ago

> canceling all of its best shows Care to list? Most of the loss of shows I see are from studios pulling them off Netflix to make them exclusive to their own streaming service - a bunch of Disney stuff is now Hulu or D+ only for instance.

johnchristopher 4y ago
https://decider.com/list/canceled-netflix-original-shows/ https://decider.com/list/canceled-netflix-original-shows/ Personally I am still not over the cancellation of Sense8 and The Oa.
MillenialGran 4y ago
Ozark, Stranger Things, Grace and Frankie are all wrapping up. Archive 51 was great and very well received and cancelled immediately. Right now there's kind of a shortage of Netflix-unique good shows. I'm not spending money that I worked for in exchange for... a nature documentary narrated by Obama. Derry Girls is great but you can watch it months in advance on All4 with a dirt cheap VPN. There is a similar situation for Bodyguard. They are expecting people to actually sign up (instead of sharing passwords lmao) and watch ads for the off chance that in a year or two maybe Squid Game season 2 is as good as season 1, or that they need to not miss out on Red Notice 2 and 3. It feels like they are literally betting that people need forgettable Gal Gadot movies in the same way that they need cigarettes.
- beckler 4y ago
  I'm mostly bitter about Santa Clarita Diet being cancelled, but these were some other shows I enjoyed that were also cancelled: The OA, GLOW, I Am Not Okay with This, Teenage Bounty Hunters, Daybreak.
  - MillenialGran 4y ago
    Canceling GLOW was one of the first indicators that nobody in charge at Netflix appears to actually watch Netflix shows. Did they ever clarify exactly why it was cancelled? I remember reading that the cast and crew wanted one more season to finally wrap up the story, and the fans DEFINITELY wanted another season so... ?
  - Rapzid 4y ago
    Yeah, GLOW was great fun. Shows rapping up is good. Cancelled early no good.
mike00632 4y ago
The Dark Crystal, Travelers
- MillenialGran 4y ago
  Travelers was great! I would have loved another couple seasons!

ripe 4y ago

I agree with your point that Netflix UX is terrible. But what do you mean "canceling all of its best shows"? It's not Netflix's fault if the studios pulled their licenses for their content, for their own streaming services.

saurik 4y ago
When I read that phrase I presume they mean Netflix's first-party content, not content being licensed.

Ataraxic 4y ago

I think it's not just canceling their "best" shows. They have lots of data on what people watch. Rather I'd say that when you cancel shows people love whether or not they have great ratings you're creating a lot of brand damage that is not accounted for. I think this latest price increase really tipped that over the edge for plenty of people that weren't getting much use from Netflix. Price increases bring increased scrutiny on the value of the service compared to just hiding as a monthly $15 charge or so amongst a sea of subscriptions that products are sold as. This is anecdotal but this is my experience. I used to love Netflix and though maybe they didn't have the most shows they had shows I realllllly wanted to watch. Now? There is so little that I care about and the positive brand sentiment is gone. Great shows that I became attached to were canceled so regularly that I am truly not interested in investing time into their shows. Not all shows should go on forever but then you might as well commit to making everything a limited 2 season series and be honest about it. I actually canceled Netflix and had not had it for a year before the pandemic (where I gave in) but I think many people in this economic environment are finding it easier to give up a TV subscription to a company that produces _mostly_, mediocrity. It truly has been interesting to watch a giant brand so committed to their own internal analytics that they've lost so much of their brand reputation.