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> All three you mention currently have severe deficits compared to Netflix. I agree to your points to a certain extent. However, you're forgetting that Netfli

by johneth 12y ago

> All three you mention currently have severe deficits compared to Netflix. I agree to your points to a certain extent. However, you're forgetting that Netflix also has deficits to the other three. HBO, as I understand it, would most likely have up-to-date recent films, something Netflix severely lacks and people actually want. Amazon is bundled with Prime, a big draw for a lot of people which makes it's offering look more desirable in many ways. Hulu is free (except Hulu Plus). Probably most importantly, all three have unique content which is not available on Netflix (especially true of HBO). > It seems unlikely they'd pay any of the others without paying Netflix. I don't think this is necessarily true. With VoD services like these, people will use the ones which have the content they want to watch. As the 'incumbant', Netflix will have certain first mover advantages in terms of brand recognition, but this won't last forever and the market still has lots of room for growth.

CocaKoala 12y ago
>However, you're forgetting that Netflix also has deficits to the other three. This is a pretty good point. I subscribe to both Hulu and Netflix, and I feel like they provide very different services. Netflix provides a large back-catalogue of movies and TV shows, while Hulu is more for watching things which are currently airing. If netflix was able to get episodes of shows on a real-time basis, instead seasons at a time the season after the season is over, it might be competing on a more direct basis with Hulu. As it stands, I feel like they are for different markets, and somebody who wants a Hulu subscription isn't going to be satisfied with Netflix.
nknighthb 12y ago
Hulu is not free in any useful sense. You can play a limited selection of their content on a PC without a subscription, but full access and use on mobile devices, consoles, and things like Roku and Apple TV requires a Hulu Plus subscription at the same price as Netflix. I'm not saying the other services don't have content people want that Netflix does not have, I'm saying they're going to want the content Netflix has, too.

by johneth 12y ago

CocaKoala 12y ago

>However, you're forgetting that Netflix also has deficits to the other three. This is a pretty good point. I subscribe to both Hulu and Netflix, and I feel like they provide very different services. Netflix provides a large back-catalogue of movies and TV shows, while Hulu is more for watching things which are currently airing. If netflix was able to get episodes of shows on a real-time basis, instead seasons at a time the season after the season is over, it might be competing on a more direct basis with Hulu. As it stands, I feel like they are for different markets, and somebody who wants a Hulu subscription isn't going to be satisfied with Netflix.

nknighthb 12y ago

Hulu is not free in any useful sense. You can play a limited selection of their content on a PC without a subscription, but full access and use on mobile devices, consoles, and things like Roku and Apple TV requires a Hulu Plus subscription at the same price as Netflix. I'm not saying the other services don't have content people want that Netflix does not have, I'm saying they're going to want the content Netflix has, too.