5 ms·

Ignoring the argument about whether or not my ISP supports SuperHD yet, I have to ask the question -- What happened to Netflix? Between Hulu Plus, Amazon, Crac

by bmelton 14y ago

Ignoring the argument about whether or not my ISP supports SuperHD yet, I have to ask the question -- What happened to Netflix? Between Hulu Plus, Amazon, Crackle, iTunes, Verizon On-Demand, regular and paid cable channels, I can't even remember the last time I found something on Netflix worth watching. In fact, I took an inventory the other day to see whether or not it was even worth the $8 a month I'm paying for it, and of all the movies 'added' to Netflix since 2011, I was only able to recognize the titles of about five. Of those five, none of them were blockbusters I'd been waiting to see particularly. It seems that either their streaming catalog has grown stagnant, or to enjoy it I have to learn to study the independent movie scene more closely to figure out what is worth seeing. Did I miss a big chapter of their story? I know that many people had situated Netflix out of the '28-day window', but while I'm happy to wait another month to see most movies, I'd like to eventually see it at some point, and frankly, none of the 20 or so movies that I had gone to the theaters to see in that same time frame had ever appeared on Netflix as a streaming option.

outside1234 14y ago
Big data happened to Netflix. They moneyball their movies and only pick the ones that result in the most retention in an aggregate sense.
- georgemcbay 14y ago
  Hostile content providers also happened to Netflix. I got a peek into how the studios feel about Netflix while at a previous job and they all see it as a snot-nosed punk that is acting to ruin the value of their precious content. They are firmly against the all-you-can-eat model that essentially defines Netflix. When Netflix was the only game in town they could change the minds of the content people by pulling up in fleets of money trucks, but now that there are viable alternatives that push rentals and digital ownership (via UltraViolet, etc), the content people are mostly just cutting Netflix off and hoping they die. Of course, Netflix is aware of this which is why they've started to get into the business of funding their own content.
- wmf 14y ago
  Are you saying Netflix believes that people don't want to watch mainstream movies?
  - outside1234 14y ago
    No but if mainstream movies cost 8x as much and only retain users at 4x the rate, then you're going to get more B movies vs. mainstream.
GuiA 14y ago
I came to the same realization as you did, and stopped my Netflix subscription a few months ago. I figured that as far as watching a movie goes, I'd rather rent 3 latest releases a month on iTunes for $3 each than pay $8 for a sub-par catalog on Netflix. Netflix does have a bunch of shows that I enjoy re-watching everyonce in a while, but buying the physical copy used for cheap on Amazon is again a better option. I might resume my subscription for a month when they release the Arrested Development exclusive season, but that's the only interesting they'd offer that I can think of.
straws 14y ago
People continue to love netflix.
king_jester 14y ago
> Between Hulu Plus, Amazon, Crackle, iTunes, Verizon On-Demand, regular and paid cable channels, This is a bit of an unfair comparison. You listed sources that, together, have available tons of content, yet individually most of those services are missing things that the others have. Netflix still has a lot of great content, but it's going to depend on your taste. If you are looking for new TV shows and lots of blockbuster type files, Netflix will come up empty handed. If you are looking for a content library with lots of different kinds of shows and films in many different genres and production levels, Netflix is still a very good value.
- bmelton 14y ago
  That comparison is perhaps unfair, but the real thing I'm comparing it to is the Netflix that it used to be. I was an early adopter of the disc-based program, and was early in on the streaming program -- in years past, whenever I turned on Netflix, there was something new to watch. Nowadays, there just doesn't seem to be. If I compare it to just one of those, Hulu, it's still an unfair competition of course, but Hulu has something new for me to watch almost every time I turn it on. I understand that there's a huge difference between how the two services operate, but there is not a huge difference in price. Hulu Plus is only $2 more expensive than Netflix, but by the value delivered to me comparatively, I should either pay much more for Hulu, or much less for Netflix. I'll likely keep subscribing as I'm a long-time fan of their service, but I just didn't know what happened, and while I've been frustrated with it for some time, it only recently occurred to me to actually sample all their new content to see what I was getting. Ideally, they're on the cusp of something that will bolster their catalog (I know there's supposedly a thing with Disney, but as I hear it that's years off yet) or in some way alter the service such that makes it a more worthwhile spend... I'd even pay them more if it would help, but in the midst of all the other content providers, I just don't see why I should be giving them any money other than out of loyalty.
chrisgoodrich 14y ago
They also lost a major partnership with Starz which bolstered their catalog for a long time with newer releases and movies from the major studios.
sunraa 14y ago
They have a fair amount of pretty good TV programming (subjective I admit). They also have a significant amount of kids TV programming which is not to be underestimated.
eridius 14y ago
This is actually a good point. It's been quite some time since I've even bothered searching Netflix when I want to watch a movie. These days I just go straight to iTunes. I can't remember the last time the movie I wanted to see was actually available on Netflix.
turing 14y ago
Just checked, and I have 82 unwatched items in my Instant Queue, a mix of documentaries, independent films, older films (5-10 years back), and TV series that I've heard great things about but never got around to. No, Netflix doesn't have all (or even most) of the big blockbusters that everyone has heard of, but it definitely has a ton of great content if you're willing to find it. I've watched and rated enough content at this point that the recommendation algorithm is providing really accurate recommendations, so much so that I don't think I'll ever make it through everything in my queue. To each his own I guess.
BillSaysThis 14y ago
LOL, I made up the word Netflixed over ten years ago to describe this situation ;)
tristan_louis 14y ago
Those rental services are definitely not the place to go to for relatively recent hits: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/01/07/no-hits-on-netflix-amazon-prime/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/01/07/no-hits-... I guess Netflix is switching to being more of a catchup TV system right now.
jimbobimbo 14y ago
I'm a longtime 3-at-a-time + streaming subscriber and my queue is never empty. Streaming selection on Netflix is pale in comparisson to their DVD selection. Granted, I'm not so "current" on the movies, but 95% of the time I'm looking for something, Netflix has it one way or another. Another 5% are the movies obscure enough even for their DVD selection. :)
romnempire 14y ago
I mean, it's sort of obvious. If a movie has a big enough pull for you to go drive to a theatre to watch it, the company that owns the movie realises you're willing to pay a direct rental fee for the movie off itunes or something. I'm going to wing it and say the studio might make 2-3 dollars on a single movie digital rental, but maybe 20-30 cents of your 8 dollars a month if they stuck it into a streaming service. Do you really expect to get a pile of movies and TV you'd willingly pay, idk, 30-40$ a month for if bought individually in an 8$ streaming package? Netflix doesn't have big films because the people who own big films know that on the bottom line, their product has enough draw to be worth more when sold alone. And I mean, sure, a subscription model has more reliable cashflow sometimes, and maybe they can trade product worth for popularity and bulk sales and make more money, but who knows what might happen? Combined with the fact some of these studios have enough content to make their own web distribution services and remain in control of their web presence, and the worry that putting too much content on the web might kill the money they make from TV, it's just an iffy decision to shake up everything and put stuff on the streaming web until somebody comes around and makes a netflix people are willing to pay 20$ a month for - maybe even the 40-50$ you'd pay for a nice cable package, and can offer them some real royalties.
pasbesoin 14y ago
Their streaming offer blows for "mainstream", popular content. And.... many items I had queued in the instant/streaming queue -- and not just "big ticket" items -- have been becoming unavailable. I find this ironic, in that just a year or two ago their emphasis was on streaming, to the point of attempting to spin off the disc-based segment into a separately named/branded company. If they hadn't kept the discs, my (uninformed, and somewhat pissed off) bet is that the "Netflix" brand would be close to if not contracting, at this point. It sucks to be the middleman, when either end can find a way around you. (In this case, primarily the content owners, in various fashions.)

by bmelton 14y ago

outside1234 14y ago

Big data happened to Netflix. They moneyball their movies and only pick the ones that result in the most retention in an aggregate sense.

georgemcbay 14y ago
Hostile content providers also happened to Netflix. I got a peek into how the studios feel about Netflix while at a previous job and they all see it as a snot-nosed punk that is acting to ruin the value of their precious content. They are firmly against the all-you-can-eat model that essentially defines Netflix. When Netflix was the only game in town they could change the minds of the content people by pulling up in fleets of money trucks, but now that there are viable alternatives that push rentals and digital ownership (via UltraViolet, etc), the content people are mostly just cutting Netflix off and hoping they die. Of course, Netflix is aware of this which is why they've started to get into the business of funding their own content.
wmf 14y ago
Are you saying Netflix believes that people don't want to watch mainstream movies?
- outside1234 14y ago
  No but if mainstream movies cost 8x as much and only retain users at 4x the rate, then you're going to get more B movies vs. mainstream.

GuiA 14y ago

I came to the same realization as you did, and stopped my Netflix subscription a few months ago. I figured that as far as watching a movie goes, I'd rather rent 3 latest releases a month on iTunes for $3 each than pay $8 for a sub-par catalog on Netflix. Netflix does have a bunch of shows that I enjoy re-watching everyonce in a while, but buying the physical copy used for cheap on Amazon is again a better option. I might resume my subscription for a month when they release the Arrested Development exclusive season, but that's the only interesting they'd offer that I can think of.

straws 14y ago

People continue to love netflix.

king_jester 14y ago

> Between Hulu Plus, Amazon, Crackle, iTunes, Verizon On-Demand, regular and paid cable channels, This is a bit of an unfair comparison. You listed sources that, together, have available tons of content, yet individually most of those services are missing things that the others have. Netflix still has a lot of great content, but it's going to depend on your taste. If you are looking for new TV shows and lots of blockbuster type files, Netflix will come up empty handed. If you are looking for a content library with lots of different kinds of shows and films in many different genres and production levels, Netflix is still a very good value.

bmelton 14y ago
That comparison is perhaps unfair, but the real thing I'm comparing it to is the Netflix that it used to be. I was an early adopter of the disc-based program, and was early in on the streaming program -- in years past, whenever I turned on Netflix, there was something new to watch. Nowadays, there just doesn't seem to be. If I compare it to just one of those, Hulu, it's still an unfair competition of course, but Hulu has something new for me to watch almost every time I turn it on. I understand that there's a huge difference between how the two services operate, but there is not a huge difference in price. Hulu Plus is only $2 more expensive than Netflix, but by the value delivered to me comparatively, I should either pay much more for Hulu, or much less for Netflix. I'll likely keep subscribing as I'm a long-time fan of their service, but I just didn't know what happened, and while I've been frustrated with it for some time, it only recently occurred to me to actually sample all their new content to see what I was getting. Ideally, they're on the cusp of something that will bolster their catalog (I know there's supposedly a thing with Disney, but as I hear it that's years off yet) or in some way alter the service such that makes it a more worthwhile spend... I'd even pay them more if it would help, but in the midst of all the other content providers, I just don't see why I should be giving them any money other than out of loyalty.

chrisgoodrich 14y ago

They also lost a major partnership with Starz which bolstered their catalog for a long time with newer releases and movies from the major studios.

sunraa 14y ago

They have a fair amount of pretty good TV programming (subjective I admit). They also have a significant amount of kids TV programming which is not to be underestimated.

eridius 14y ago

This is actually a good point. It's been quite some time since I've even bothered searching Netflix when I want to watch a movie. These days I just go straight to iTunes. I can't remember the last time the movie I wanted to see was actually available on Netflix.

turing 14y ago

Just checked, and I have 82 unwatched items in my Instant Queue, a mix of documentaries, independent films, older films (5-10 years back), and TV series that I've heard great things about but never got around to. No, Netflix doesn't have all (or even most) of the big blockbusters that everyone has heard of, but it definitely has a ton of great content if you're willing to find it. I've watched and rated enough content at this point that the recommendation algorithm is providing really accurate recommendations, so much so that I don't think I'll ever make it through everything in my queue. To each his own I guess.

BillSaysThis 14y ago

LOL, I made up the word Netflixed over ten years ago to describe this situation ;)

tristan_louis 14y ago

Those rental services are definitely not the place to go to for relatively recent hits: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/01/07/no-hits-on-netflix-amazon-prime/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlouis/2013/01/07/no-hits-... I guess Netflix is switching to being more of a catchup TV system right now.

jimbobimbo 14y ago

I'm a longtime 3-at-a-time + streaming subscriber and my queue is never empty. Streaming selection on Netflix is pale in comparisson to their DVD selection. Granted, I'm not so "current" on the movies, but 95% of the time I'm looking for something, Netflix has it one way or another. Another 5% are the movies obscure enough even for their DVD selection. :)

romnempire 14y ago

I mean, it's sort of obvious. If a movie has a big enough pull for you to go drive to a theatre to watch it, the company that owns the movie realises you're willing to pay a direct rental fee for the movie off itunes or something. I'm going to wing it and say the studio might make 2-3 dollars on a single movie digital rental, but maybe 20-30 cents of your 8 dollars a month if they stuck it into a streaming service. Do you really expect to get a pile of movies and TV you'd willingly pay, idk, 30-40$ a month for if bought individually in an 8$ streaming package? Netflix doesn't have big films because the people who own big films know that on the bottom line, their product has enough draw to be worth more when sold alone. And I mean, sure, a subscription model has more reliable cashflow sometimes, and maybe they can trade product worth for popularity and bulk sales and make more money, but who knows what might happen? Combined with the fact some of these studios have enough content to make their own web distribution services and remain in control of their web presence, and the worry that putting too much content on the web might kill the money they make from TV, it's just an iffy decision to shake up everything and put stuff on the streaming web until somebody comes around and makes a netflix people are willing to pay 20$ a month for - maybe even the 40-50$ you'd pay for a nice cable package, and can offer them some real royalties.

pasbesoin 14y ago

Their streaming offer blows for "mainstream", popular content. And.... many items I had queued in the instant/streaming queue -- and not just "big ticket" items -- have been becoming unavailable. I find this ironic, in that just a year or two ago their emphasis was on streaming, to the point of attempting to spin off the disc-based segment into a separately named/branded company. If they hadn't kept the discs, my (uninformed, and somewhat pissed off) bet is that the "Netflix" brand would be close to if not contracting, at this point. It sucks to be the middleman, when either end can find a way around you. (In this case, primarily the content owners, in various fashions.)