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Netflix couldn’t afford WB or NBC without slowing down the rest of their content production. A lot of the content they would’ve gotten doesn’t work well on stre

Netflix couldn’t afford WB or NBC without slowing down the rest of their content production. A lot of the content they would’ve gotten doesn’t work well on streaming, as Warner is finding out. Spending time and money on a major network would’ve put them behind, and scared all their competitors early. By not weighing themselves down, they were able to build their massive library. Netflix tried hard to get the LotR rights. Just about every major streamer did. Building critically acclaimed cinematic universes is something everyone struggles with, except maybe Disney.

echelon 4y ago
> The Swedish video game and media company Embracer Group has purchased the rights to “Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit” and other properties from the Saul Zaentz Co. The terms of the details were not disclosed, but CNBC reports that “the purchase was a part of six acquisitions,” totaling $572.8 million. [1] > Details picked up by the Daily Mail show that Netflix is paying £370 million (about $502 million) for the rights to Dahl's entire catalog. [2] > At a budget of $200 million, Red Notice is Netflix's most expensive original film to date. [3] Netflix chose poorly. [1] https://www.thestreet.com/investing/who-owns-the-lord-of-the-rings-rights https://www.thestreet.com/investing/who-owns-the-lord-of-the... [2] https://www.polygon.com/22876640/netflix-roald-dahl-movies-antisemitism-charity https://www.polygon.com/22876640/netflix-roald-dahl-movies-a... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Notice_(film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Notice_(film)
- 1123581321 4y ago
  I don’t see a choice here. They weren’t able to win the comprehensive rights purchase, and they also weren’t able to win the TV license that Amazon won. All of these major streaming companies are trying to get all of the best deals and never make a bad show or movie. Road Dahl is probably going to work well for them.
bryanrasmussen 4y ago
> A lot of the content they would’ve gotten doesn’t work well on streaming, as Warner is finding out can you clarify? My experience with HBOMax is not the content sucks but the service / site sucks so much it makes me actively not want to watch things. I'm continually offended just by how much it sucks.
- 1123581321 4y ago
  Yes, I mean that in addition to the good stuff (Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Batman, etc) Netflix would have to pay for a huge catalog of content that isn’t a draw on streaming. To make the most of it, they would suddenly be in the business of managing TV channels and distribution partnerships. So they’d essentially overpay because they’d be outside their core business when their strategy is maximal focus on the core business. The opportunity cost would be the ability to create and license new streaming content they don’t overpay for. Warner has recently been culling some of these poorly performing fits from HBO Max (arguably imperfectly), so they also recognize this. I didn’t mean that people don’t enjoy HBO’s good programs.

echelon 4y ago

> The Swedish video game and media company Embracer Group has purchased the rights to “Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit” and other properties from the Saul Zaentz Co. The terms of the details were not disclosed, but CNBC reports that “the purchase was a part of six acquisitions,” totaling $572.8 million. [1] > Details picked up by the Daily Mail show that Netflix is paying £370 million (about $502 million) for the rights to Dahl's entire catalog. [2] > At a budget of $200 million, Red Notice is Netflix's most expensive original film to date. [3] Netflix chose poorly. [1] https://www.thestreet.com/investing/who-owns-the-lord-of-the-rings-rights https://www.thestreet.com/investing/who-owns-the-lord-of-the... [2] https://www.polygon.com/22876640/netflix-roald-dahl-movies-antisemitism-charity https://www.polygon.com/22876640/netflix-roald-dahl-movies-a... [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Notice_(film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Notice_(film)

1123581321 4y ago
I don’t see a choice here. They weren’t able to win the comprehensive rights purchase, and they also weren’t able to win the TV license that Amazon won. All of these major streaming companies are trying to get all of the best deals and never make a bad show or movie. Road Dahl is probably going to work well for them.

bryanrasmussen 4y ago

> A lot of the content they would’ve gotten doesn’t work well on streaming, as Warner is finding out can you clarify? My experience with HBOMax is not the content sucks but the service / site sucks so much it makes me actively not want to watch things. I'm continually offended just by how much it sucks.

1123581321 4y ago
Yes, I mean that in addition to the good stuff (Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Batman, etc) Netflix would have to pay for a huge catalog of content that isn’t a draw on streaming. To make the most of it, they would suddenly be in the business of managing TV channels and distribution partnerships. So they’d essentially overpay because they’d be outside their core business when their strategy is maximal focus on the core business. The opportunity cost would be the ability to create and license new streaming content they don’t overpay for. Warner has recently been culling some of these poorly performing fits from HBO Max (arguably imperfectly), so they also recognize this. I didn’t mean that people don’t enjoy HBO’s good programs.