3 ms·

I think this is a smart buy. Buying netflix would be stupidly expensive, but buying Hulu and changing it to out-netflix netflix could be a really good play to p

by iuguy 13y ago

I think this is a smart buy. Buying netflix would be stupidly expensive, but buying Hulu and changing it to out-netflix netflix could be a really good play to pick up a platform fairly cheaply and run with it. The question is whether or not Yahoo! has the dynamism to do that, and I'm not sure anyone other than Marissa Mayer has the answer, if her. Here in the UK, iPlayer dominates the online market. If she can come with a paid for equivalent getting things like Game of Thrones and original content on the level of house of cards, Yahoo could really challenge that.

johneth 13y ago
The UK market is probably one of the most 'advanced' in terms of online viewing of TV and movies (thanks in large part to the popularity of the iPlayer). There's a mix of things; multi-platform free VoD (iPlayer, 4oD, ITV), multi-platform subscription VoD (Netflix, Blinkbox, Lovefilm), subscription live stuff (Sky). I would credit the BBC with spurring on this competition - they've expanded the mindshare for these kind of products with everyday people probably more than any other company. They're not really competing with the other players in the UK, though. A new player would be competing with the likes of Sky (who own the rights to a load of premium stuff, which wouldn't be up for grabs for a long time, and when it is, would be fought for). Netflix has this problem right now with movie and TV rights.