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It's going to be really interesting when they roll this out worldwide. I'd say Netflix execs are delusional if they think they'll be able to get a net positive

It's going to be really interesting when they roll this out worldwide. I'd say Netflix execs are delusional if they think they'll be able to get a net positive to revenue out of this change.

samstave 4y ago
Perhaps its not about "revenue"... Perhaps its more about more granular tracking of human attention and relationship matrices. Which can then be further analyzed. Imagine that they have the ability to see who is sharing what general sentiments - based on the fact that they share a media library of cultivated cultural memes and awareness which is the programming of thought as is the basis of the SpellBinding aspects of the Holly Wood tree (need to know you druidics there) Perhaps, if you tighten down the net - you get to see where thought on topics coalesces and where relationships in sentiment reside. Perhaps... we are, even unbeknownst to the coporations who provide access to such entanglemts, are being measured, catalougued and listed amongst those who share a certain predilection toward resistences... Resistences are to a much more esoteric idea. while we fall to the mundanity of life of consumption, we only ever look down. Like a dog, seeking the floor for scraps whilst the masters eat... Media is the scraps. we are the dogs... We fight over the scraps. as the masters gorge on profit of our tribulations. but those profits have flattened... even though every single scrap has been seasoned, and fired and glazed in a meticulous recipe of deceit, desire, and lust.. perfect for the dogs to lick, bite and fuck over. A new way of netting from that attention. to phish it in, to harvast. prophet. We go now... on every level to the pre-verse. Before it was a sound thought. Today, you. Tomorrow ME!
gnicholas 4y ago
They'll surely lose some subscribers in the short run, but it's not clear to me that it'll be a net loser in the long run. There are people who share accounts because they are very price-sensitive, and they'd be more likely to bail and find other ways to get content (competitors that aren't cracking down, or pirating). But there are also people who share accounts for historical reasons, like grown children and their parents. Those folks may have more than enough disposable income to have their own accounts, or pay a surcharge for having a joint account. The question is: what percent of NFLX's multi-household subscribers will (1) quit, (2) pay a surcharge, or (3) get a separate account? My guess is there aren't a lot in (1), most are in (2), and there are very few in (3). I imagine they're trying to learn from their experience with this pilot program so they can figure out an appropriate surcharge.
- smeagull 4y ago
  The problem Netflix has, is that if you've been on a streaming platform for a while, then the other platforms are all more attractive because they have more content that you haven't seen, while the content on your current platform seems stale. It's a weird system that encourages switching over. The only thing they have is inertia. But if you send emails and notices out to your customers saying that you are degrading service, or charging more? That could easily be the call to action they need to switch.
  - gnicholas 4y ago
    Yeah, there's definitely an incentive to switch in the short-run. This is especially true for people who have had family plans in the past and part of the family wanted to cancel but didn't because they knew the other part of the family still used the service. If competitors took the opportunity to crack down on account sharing as well, there might not be as many switchers. Honestly one of the things that NFLX might be testing out with these pilots is how the competition will react. Maybe they're giving Disney/Amazon time to get their systems set up for a crackdown, since that would help NFLX, and in the long run help all of them.
    - dsizzle 4y ago
      I would think Disney/Amazon wait to see how things pan out with Netflix first. In the short term, don't they stand to gain subscribers? Seems the only way they lose out is if the effort is a net positive, but that's not guaranteed, and it may be sensitive to how it's how it's rolled out.
- thawaya3113 4y ago
  Anything that will make people consider their Netflix subscription is gonna be a loser for Netflix. Most people have had Netflix for so long they don’t even think about it as an expense. My family, for example, have been paying for Netflix through TMobile and we got it at a time when TMobile was offering it for free. Over the past couple of years the subsidized price seems to have increased beyond several very decent streaming services. The very act of looking at the bill means we will be bailing out of the Netflix subscription, the moment we’ve completed the latest season of Stranger Things. Netflix is making a mistake by making people think about their Netflix subscription.
polka_haunts_us 4y ago
For my parets, our consumption of Netflix definitely peaked years ago and has been on the decline, but they never even thought about cancelling it b/c we've been subscribed since the DVD by mail days, it's such a long term expenditure it didn't even register as something that could be cancelled. Sometimes though, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease, the squeaky wheel gets sold as scrap metal.
121789 4y ago
Why do you think they're delusional? If there is a significant portion of their users that will not pay for their service, what is the upside of letting them watch your content for free?
- NewLogic 4y ago
  Exposure and relevance in pop culture, once people stop talking about your content you're done.

It's going to be really interesting when they roll this out worldwide. I'd say Netflix execs are delusional if they think they'll be able to get a net positive to revenue out of this change.

samstave 4y ago

Perhaps its not about "revenue"... Perhaps its more about more granular tracking of human attention and relationship matrices. Which can then be further analyzed. Imagine that they have the ability to see who is sharing what general sentiments - based on the fact that they share a media library of cultivated cultural memes and awareness which is the programming of thought as is the basis of the SpellBinding aspects of the Holly Wood tree (need to know you druidics there) Perhaps, if you tighten down the net - you get to see where thought on topics coalesces and where relationships in sentiment reside. Perhaps... we are, even unbeknownst to the coporations who provide access to such entanglemts, are being measured, catalougued and listed amongst those who share a certain predilection toward resistences... Resistences are to a much more esoteric idea. while we fall to the mundanity of life of consumption, we only ever look down. Like a dog, seeking the floor for scraps whilst the masters eat... Media is the scraps. we are the dogs... We fight over the scraps. as the masters gorge on profit of our tribulations. but those profits have flattened... even though every single scrap has been seasoned, and fired and glazed in a meticulous recipe of deceit, desire, and lust.. perfect for the dogs to lick, bite and fuck over. A new way of netting from that attention. to phish it in, to harvast. prophet. We go now... on every level to the pre-verse. Before it was a sound thought. Today, you. Tomorrow ME!

gnicholas 4y ago

They'll surely lose some subscribers in the short run, but it's not clear to me that it'll be a net loser in the long run. There are people who share accounts because they are very price-sensitive, and they'd be more likely to bail and find other ways to get content (competitors that aren't cracking down, or pirating). But there are also people who share accounts for historical reasons, like grown children and their parents. Those folks may have more than enough disposable income to have their own accounts, or pay a surcharge for having a joint account. The question is: what percent of NFLX's multi-household subscribers will (1) quit, (2) pay a surcharge, or (3) get a separate account? My guess is there aren't a lot in (1), most are in (2), and there are very few in (3). I imagine they're trying to learn from their experience with this pilot program so they can figure out an appropriate surcharge.

smeagull 4y ago
The problem Netflix has, is that if you've been on a streaming platform for a while, then the other platforms are all more attractive because they have more content that you haven't seen, while the content on your current platform seems stale. It's a weird system that encourages switching over. The only thing they have is inertia. But if you send emails and notices out to your customers saying that you are degrading service, or charging more? That could easily be the call to action they need to switch.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  Yeah, there's definitely an incentive to switch in the short-run. This is especially true for people who have had family plans in the past and part of the family wanted to cancel but didn't because they knew the other part of the family still used the service. If competitors took the opportunity to crack down on account sharing as well, there might not be as many switchers. Honestly one of the things that NFLX might be testing out with these pilots is how the competition will react. Maybe they're giving Disney/Amazon time to get their systems set up for a crackdown, since that would help NFLX, and in the long run help all of them.
  - dsizzle 4y ago
    I would think Disney/Amazon wait to see how things pan out with Netflix first. In the short term, don't they stand to gain subscribers? Seems the only way they lose out is if the effort is a net positive, but that's not guaranteed, and it may be sensitive to how it's how it's rolled out.
thawaya3113 4y ago
Anything that will make people consider their Netflix subscription is gonna be a loser for Netflix. Most people have had Netflix for so long they don’t even think about it as an expense. My family, for example, have been paying for Netflix through TMobile and we got it at a time when TMobile was offering it for free. Over the past couple of years the subsidized price seems to have increased beyond several very decent streaming services. The very act of looking at the bill means we will be bailing out of the Netflix subscription, the moment we’ve completed the latest season of Stranger Things. Netflix is making a mistake by making people think about their Netflix subscription.

polka_haunts_us 4y ago

For my parets, our consumption of Netflix definitely peaked years ago and has been on the decline, but they never even thought about cancelling it b/c we've been subscribed since the DVD by mail days, it's such a long term expenditure it didn't even register as something that could be cancelled. Sometimes though, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease, the squeaky wheel gets sold as scrap metal.

121789 4y ago

Why do you think they're delusional? If there is a significant portion of their users that will not pay for their service, what is the upside of letting them watch your content for free?

NewLogic 4y ago
Exposure and relevance in pop culture, once people stop talking about your content you're done.