6 ms·

I loved Arrested Development, and I'm glad that it's coming back, but I'm not sure this is a good move for Netflix. If this idea picks up steam, Netflix become

by angli 15y ago

I loved Arrested Development, and I'm glad that it's coming back, but I'm not sure this is a good move for Netflix. If this idea picks up steam, Netflix becomes a competitor to the networks and their relationships get worse. Heaven knows they're tense enough already. It seems likely that others may pull their content, as Starz recently did, lessening Netflix's appeal. So yes, in the short run they'll gain subscribers, but I don't think this outweighs the major risks this poses in the long run.

mk 15y ago
Or the producers of television see this as a way to not deal with the networks and still get their show distributed to people, and the networks find themselves without good television to put on the air.
- munaf 15y ago
  Agreed. This is proof-of-concept time. If it succeeds, TV/film producers will gradually dip their feet in more.
tomsaffell 15y ago
Don't those long-term risks exist no matter what?
barredo 15y ago
If Netflix doesn't make steps like this (and the $100M tv show produced by netflix) they will be at the complete mercy of the major studios/networks.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
danilocampos 15y ago
The flawed premise here is that the networks will continue to matter. They won't. Their days are numbered. Building the future is hard and it's messy. Netflix has been taking it on the chin this year as they've passed through a really rough patch. In the end, though, I'd put money on Netflix existing in 2020 before I would any given broadcast network. TV is dead. Netflix is trying to redefine distribution. They're not going to win by placating the dinosaurs of distribution's past. If the Arrested Development deal works out, production companies may see that they have new options for financing their projects and might get better opportunities to reach an audience than they'd ever get on TV. So it's simple: take the issue by the balls and control your destiny or bow and scrape before moronic suits who don't understand technology, hoping and praying that they won't change their minds each time a licensing deal expires.
- CamperBob 15y ago
  In the end, though, I'd put money on Netflix existing in 2020 before I would any given broadcast network. TV is dead. Someone is going to have to deal with the question of live sports coverage, somehow, before this can happen.
  - sukuriant 15y ago
    Local stations will probably continue to exist for: * sports * news * weather Alternatively, ESPN could stream (and should! Could you imagine if they got the ad money directly for the Super Bowl??? I bet ESPN would be licking its chops for that kind of money)
  - stock_toaster 15y ago
    You mean like the olympics that were streaming from the nbc website in 2010/vancouver? I consider it a solved problem. I bet more of the big sports leagues would _love_ to cut out the middle men and monetize viewership more directly somehow (like NBA league pass and MLB.tv are).
    - philwelch 15y ago
      Apparently not. You must not be a sports fan if you think it's a solved problem; there is live streaming of about 2 NFL games a week and a handful of English, French, and Italian soccer league matches. Everything else is pirate at best, or stupidly requires you to have a TV subscription anyway. Olympics and World Cup are each once every four years, streaming them is helpful but not really a full solution.
      - PerryCox 15y ago
        The current problem is that NBC is the only network that has streaming rights for the NFL. This is basically just an artifact of their deal with the NFL. Most likely when it comes time to renew contracts that exclusive clause will be marked out and the NFL will allow all stations that have rights to broadcast games online. The NFL is pretty much the trend setter in the sports world when it comes to media. They were the first to figure out the right way to do a TV deal back in the early 70s, the first to start their own network, etc. It's only a matter of time.
rickdale 15y ago
What if it caused the exact opposite to happen and this move gives netflix leverage in negotiating for content. I am just saying no reason for netflix not to license out the show to be on TV as well...
nikcub 15y ago
the hope for Netflix is that they become the new network. If every good new show signs with Netflix or a similar provider, what can the old networks threaten with? This is what the future will be - then somebody just needs to figure out how to get Netflix, Amazon et al to work together so that consumers don't pay multiple subscription fees. This is why the Netflix stock price went so high - because so many analysts wrote reports about how Netflix is new media, and it may well be. tl;dr networks = dead
rudiger 15y ago
I think Netflix needs exclusive content to survive.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
cookiecaper 15y ago
The networks already want to cut Netflix out. That is what caused the whole fiasco this summer. Netflix can't just behave and hope that the networks keep throwing them bones -- that's just not how business works. It's important that they take aggressive moves to counteract this. If copyright law were a bit more reasonable, maybe this wouldn't be necessary. And I think the thread they're picking up with AD is perfect -- just imagine all of those long-lost fan favorites like Firefly, AD, and now Community getting picked up and streamed on Netflix in a climate where the show's creators are at least theoretically given freedom from network meddling (not to mention the much more realistic "ratings" that would be possible like this). I may even pay for that, and I almost never watch TV and generally hate it, but if Netflix cultivated all of the great content that the mainstream networks regularly threw away, they'd definitely have a much brighter outlook. The problem I see potentially arising out of this is the conflict of interest for cable companies as online streaming continues to override cable TV viewership. With Netflix picking up shows that had initially been considered by premium cable networks like HBO or Showtime, how much interest will Comcast have in keeping pricing for internet access out of the ridiculous ranges and varied pacakges of cable television?
mitjak 15y ago
I'm personally afraid of the more likely possibility of networks spinning off their own Netflix clones which is arguably even worse: to watch an NBC show you would need an nbc.com subscription, a CBS one for CBS shows etc.

by angli 15y ago

mk 15y ago

Or the producers of television see this as a way to not deal with the networks and still get their show distributed to people, and the networks find themselves without good television to put on the air.

munaf 15y ago
Agreed. This is proof-of-concept time. If it succeeds, TV/film producers will gradually dip their feet in more.

tomsaffell 15y ago

Don't those long-term risks exist no matter what?

barredo 15y ago

If Netflix doesn't make steps like this (and the $100M tv show produced by netflix) they will be at the complete mercy of the major studios/networks.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

danilocampos 15y ago

The flawed premise here is that the networks will continue to matter. They won't. Their days are numbered. Building the future is hard and it's messy. Netflix has been taking it on the chin this year as they've passed through a really rough patch. In the end, though, I'd put money on Netflix existing in 2020 before I would any given broadcast network. TV is dead. Netflix is trying to redefine distribution. They're not going to win by placating the dinosaurs of distribution's past. If the Arrested Development deal works out, production companies may see that they have new options for financing their projects and might get better opportunities to reach an audience than they'd ever get on TV. So it's simple: take the issue by the balls and control your destiny or bow and scrape before moronic suits who don't understand technology, hoping and praying that they won't change their minds each time a licensing deal expires.

CamperBob 15y ago
In the end, though, I'd put money on Netflix existing in 2020 before I would any given broadcast network. TV is dead. Someone is going to have to deal with the question of live sports coverage, somehow, before this can happen.
- sukuriant 15y ago
  Local stations will probably continue to exist for: * sports * news * weather Alternatively, ESPN could stream (and should! Could you imagine if they got the ad money directly for the Super Bowl??? I bet ESPN would be licking its chops for that kind of money)
- stock_toaster 15y ago
  You mean like the olympics that were streaming from the nbc website in 2010/vancouver? I consider it a solved problem. I bet more of the big sports leagues would _love_ to cut out the middle men and monetize viewership more directly somehow (like NBA league pass and MLB.tv are).
  - philwelch 15y ago
    Apparently not. You must not be a sports fan if you think it's a solved problem; there is live streaming of about 2 NFL games a week and a handful of English, French, and Italian soccer league matches. Everything else is pirate at best, or stupidly requires you to have a TV subscription anyway. Olympics and World Cup are each once every four years, streaming them is helpful but not really a full solution.
    - PerryCox 15y ago
      The current problem is that NBC is the only network that has streaming rights for the NFL. This is basically just an artifact of their deal with the NFL. Most likely when it comes time to renew contracts that exclusive clause will be marked out and the NFL will allow all stations that have rights to broadcast games online. The NFL is pretty much the trend setter in the sports world when it comes to media. They were the first to figure out the right way to do a TV deal back in the early 70s, the first to start their own network, etc. It's only a matter of time.

rickdale 15y ago

What if it caused the exact opposite to happen and this move gives netflix leverage in negotiating for content. I am just saying no reason for netflix not to license out the show to be on TV as well...

nikcub 15y ago

the hope for Netflix is that they become the new network. If every good new show signs with Netflix or a similar provider, what can the old networks threaten with? This is what the future will be - then somebody just needs to figure out how to get Netflix, Amazon et al to work together so that consumers don't pay multiple subscription fees. This is why the Netflix stock price went so high - because so many analysts wrote reports about how Netflix is new media, and it may well be. tl;dr networks = dead

rudiger 15y ago

I think Netflix needs exclusive content to survive.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

cookiecaper 15y ago

The networks already want to cut Netflix out. That is what caused the whole fiasco this summer. Netflix can't just behave and hope that the networks keep throwing them bones -- that's just not how business works. It's important that they take aggressive moves to counteract this. If copyright law were a bit more reasonable, maybe this wouldn't be necessary. And I think the thread they're picking up with AD is perfect -- just imagine all of those long-lost fan favorites like Firefly, AD, and now Community getting picked up and streamed on Netflix in a climate where the show's creators are at least theoretically given freedom from network meddling (not to mention the much more realistic "ratings" that would be possible like this). I may even pay for that, and I almost never watch TV and generally hate it, but if Netflix cultivated all of the great content that the mainstream networks regularly threw away, they'd definitely have a much brighter outlook. The problem I see potentially arising out of this is the conflict of interest for cable companies as online streaming continues to override cable TV viewership. With Netflix picking up shows that had initially been considered by premium cable networks like HBO or Showtime, how much interest will Comcast have in keeping pricing for internet access out of the ridiculous ranges and varied pacakges of cable television?

mitjak 15y ago

I'm personally afraid of the more likely possibility of networks spinning off their own Netflix clones which is arguably even worse: to watch an NBC show you would need an nbc.com subscription, a CBS one for CBS shows etc.