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I think the hard, honest answer is getting people to pay for things. Netflix, Prime Video, etc. have leap-frogged TV in terms of audience enjoyment by optimisin

by snet0 4y ago

I think the hard, honest answer is getting people to pay for things. Netflix, Prime Video, etc. have leap-frogged TV in terms of audience enjoyment by optimising for being a good product that people will pay for. The hard thing is getting people to recognise the options in front of them: pay for the thing you enjoy, or have it slowly turn to shit as it desperately morphs to optimise for ad money. Patreon is in a similar category to "donation" links on Twitch/YouTube. It's all phrased as this weird "support us!" thing, instead of "pay for the damn videos you've enjoyed for the past year", which might be necessary right now just to get people to sign up, but I don't think it's sustainable or healthy. Journalists, streamers and video creators shouldn't need to pretend they're busking on the street, asking for donations and support. They're working a damn job, pay them.

TylerE 4y ago
Netflix has gone completely down the shitter in the last decade. Ruined the UI, got rid of all the good content and replaced it with C-tier series that get canceled before concluding anyway. Oh, and have basically doubled prices. I canceled a year ago and haven’t missed it in the slightest - and I had it back when it was still dvds by mail.
- snet0 4y ago
  And it's still better than terrestrial TV.
  - kroltan 4y ago
    True, but not watching either is also an option, and there are still other ways of kill time.
- criddell 4y ago
  Netflix has consistently made the cut for me to keep it. I'm happy as long as my household uses it 6-8 hours each month. Same goes for Hulu and HBO Max. Other streamers I find myself starting and stopping as I find stuff to watch. For example, I've started and stopped Disney twice. The first to watch Mandelorian and the second to watch Get Back. It's one reason I really like subscribing through Apple. Subscribe-unsubscribe is a single click away.
  - kingaillas 4y ago
    I'm the same as far as Netflix, they have enough "good enough" shows for me to keep them around. I figure if I average ~2-3 hours a week it is still worth it. Yes some of their new shows are... not to my liking (hey, maybe somebody out there really loves Warrior Nun but I stopped after a few episodes) but several are (Shadow and Bone, Witcher, Umbrella Academy, Ozarks, Cobra Kai, Lupin) I'm looking forward to future seasons, or finishing the series (in the case of Ozarks). HBO Max might fall into the season-subscription category for me, where I take it 3-6 months a year. And maybe Disney+ too except I've got a large backlog there. Anyway, the behavior change for me is to watch a show sooner rather than later. I was working my way through Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Hulu and reached season 6, taking a break for a few weeks, to return and discover the remained of the episodes are tied to a live TV subscription. Not sure if some license deal expired in time I took a break after season 5, or if it was always like that (however, I don't think so).
mecha_ghidorah 4y ago
> The hard thing is getting people to recognise the options in front of them: pay for the thing you enjoy, or have it slowly turn to shit as it desperately morphs to optimise for ad money. With Netflix dipping into ad supported type things I'm not even sure "pay or watch it turn to shit" is the case. I know right now the ads are going to be on a new, even cheaper tier, but I am not convinced it will stay that way. Increasingly I feel like over time it will all just turn to shit eventually anyway.
gofreddygo 4y ago
> instead of "pay for the damn videos you've enjoyed for the past year", which might be necessary right now Maybe start showing customers estimated cost of what they got for free ? Maybe a sticky header with "You watched 84 hours worth $173" next to a "Donate now" button ? I 1000% agree with the idea of having to pay for what I consume. Not many agree with me.

by snet0 4y ago

TylerE 4y ago

Netflix has gone completely down the shitter in the last decade. Ruined the UI, got rid of all the good content and replaced it with C-tier series that get canceled before concluding anyway. Oh, and have basically doubled prices. I canceled a year ago and haven’t missed it in the slightest - and I had it back when it was still dvds by mail.

snet0 4y ago
And it's still better than terrestrial TV.
- kroltan 4y ago
  True, but not watching either is also an option, and there are still other ways of kill time.
criddell 4y ago
Netflix has consistently made the cut for me to keep it. I'm happy as long as my household uses it 6-8 hours each month. Same goes for Hulu and HBO Max. Other streamers I find myself starting and stopping as I find stuff to watch. For example, I've started and stopped Disney twice. The first to watch Mandelorian and the second to watch Get Back. It's one reason I really like subscribing through Apple. Subscribe-unsubscribe is a single click away.
- kingaillas 4y ago
  I'm the same as far as Netflix, they have enough "good enough" shows for me to keep them around. I figure if I average ~2-3 hours a week it is still worth it. Yes some of their new shows are... not to my liking (hey, maybe somebody out there really loves Warrior Nun but I stopped after a few episodes) but several are (Shadow and Bone, Witcher, Umbrella Academy, Ozarks, Cobra Kai, Lupin) I'm looking forward to future seasons, or finishing the series (in the case of Ozarks). HBO Max might fall into the season-subscription category for me, where I take it 3-6 months a year. And maybe Disney+ too except I've got a large backlog there. Anyway, the behavior change for me is to watch a show sooner rather than later. I was working my way through Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Hulu and reached season 6, taking a break for a few weeks, to return and discover the remained of the episodes are tied to a live TV subscription. Not sure if some license deal expired in time I took a break after season 5, or if it was always like that (however, I don't think so).

mecha_ghidorah 4y ago

> The hard thing is getting people to recognise the options in front of them: pay for the thing you enjoy, or have it slowly turn to shit as it desperately morphs to optimise for ad money. With Netflix dipping into ad supported type things I'm not even sure "pay or watch it turn to shit" is the case. I know right now the ads are going to be on a new, even cheaper tier, but I am not convinced it will stay that way. Increasingly I feel like over time it will all just turn to shit eventually anyway.

gofreddygo 4y ago

> instead of "pay for the damn videos you've enjoyed for the past year", which might be necessary right now Maybe start showing customers estimated cost of what they got for free ? Maybe a sticky header with "You watched 84 hours worth $173" next to a "Donate now" button ? I 1000% agree with the idea of having to pay for what I consume. Not many agree with me.