Building a content brand isn't going to be cheap or short term either. And the MPAA isn't so formidable an enemy. They lose on issues like SOPA that receive an

Building a content brand isn't going to be cheap or short term either. And the MPAA isn't so formidable an enemy. They lose on issues like SOPA that receive any sort of public attention, because they don't have a populist message. Both sides of the aisle* have basically abandoned them looking for the next grassroots internet issue. And this isn't that high of a hurdle. We already secured similar compulsory distribution rights for radio and cable without any concerted lobbying effort, because it's a really common sense solution that benefits consumers and producers. There's not as much legislative or judicial inertia on these issues as it might seem. As to cost, Netflix is spending $100 M per show and doing 5 shows a year (maybe the others are significantly less?). But for just 0.3% of one show per year, you get a top lobbying firm. I'd be willing to bet other distributors would pitch in to defray the cost. That's more pressure than this issue has ever seen, and it's an issue that's already been won in other domains. Given that history, I don't think it'd take more than two years of effort. Maybe five? While Netflix is seeing revenues of just under a billion dollars a quarter, they'll be fine for a while. Pricing: http://lobbying101.wordpress.com/about-lobbyists/how-much-do-they-charge/ http://lobbying101.wordpress.com/about-lobbyists/how-much-do... *UPDATE: I should have said "some individuals from both sides of the aisle," I didn't mean to claim the MPAA has lost all support, just that cracks are starting to show.