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NetFlix should change their future licensing deals so that once a person starts watching a series they can finish watching it, even after it expires. That would reduce the impact of expiration dates significantly.
Netflix Eliminates Streaming Title Expiration Dates from API
Several readers have reported that Netflix stopped showing expiration dates for Netflix streaming titles, and the Feedfliks blog confirmed the change: Until now, the API provided the exact expiry dates but Netflix has now made the decision to *not* provide the exact expiry dates unless a title ...
I see another big blunder coming. I can't quite foresee what it'll be - maybe tying profiles to streams so you have to pay for profiles even if you don't want multiple streams - but I'm sure it will go over like an osmium balloon.
Netflix CFO David Wells: We'll Introduce Multi-Stream Plan Later This Year
Netflix CFO David Wells, speaking at the 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, said that Netflix will offer a multi-stream plan later this year. While the majority of Netflix streaming occurs on a home television, Wells said they are seeing more streaming on iPad...
I don't know if it's just the way this is written, but it does sound like he's leaving tight-lipped and disgruntled.
Netflix VP of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey Leaves Netflix
Steve Swasey, VP of Corporate Communications for 7 years at Netflix, has left the company. Netflix did not announce or give a reason for the departure, but a Netflix spokesperson confirmed the change and noted that "Steve has moved on." HackingNetflix spoke with Swasey earlier, and he would only...
I wish you could save titles to the streaming queue like you can to the DVD queue. I guess I'll have to start keeping track manually.
Netflix to Get Hunger Games This Year & Avengers in 2013
DailyFinance reports that Netflix will stream The Hunger Games this year, and the hit Avengers in 2013. Rival studio Viacom also shares the joy because its Paramount division owns the domestic distribution rights for The Avengers. That's a lingering side effect of that age-old credit facility d...
"Will 2012 be the year that cord cutting takes off?"
I would really like it to be, in a huge way ... not holding me breath though.
Mercury News Covers Cord Cutters & 1.5 Million Cut the Cord in 2011
Chris O'Brien from the The San Jose Mercury News wrote about his experience in cutting the cord. Now came the hard part: Figuring out how to watch all the shows we used to watch. The Panasonic Viera comes with a large selection of apps installed, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon. We are...
Defying Gravity.
What TV Shows Should Netflix Resurrect?
Warming Glow has a list of 10 shows that they think Netflix should revive before Jericho, including Better Off Ted, Terriers, Awake, Lost, and Deadwood (please bring back Cusswood, er Deadwood!). It's been a whirlwind year for Netflix, as it attempts to stay well ahead of the curve. Unfortunat...
"If they make this move I will just have to start using the TV tuner on my HTPC and PVRing what I want to watch."
You should, even if you keep using Hulu+. When a show is available OTA I always prefer recording over streaming, always. The video quality is great and the PVR player has superior features (rewind, fast forward, commercial skip, etc.).
Will Hulu Require a Cable TV Subscription Soon?
There's quite a bit of buzz about Hulu and a new requirement that the customer also subscribe to cable TV. TechCrunch cites a source at Hulu on the topic: We just talked to a source close to Hulu. According to our source, Hulu and its content providers have talked about this move toward authent...
Agreed - NetFlix is a good supplement to something else, not a stand-alone product.
In the US, NetFlix plus broadcast television (for those that can get it) is a good alternative to cable.
In Canada far fewer people can get OTA. From what I've heard in the Digital Home forums, Canadian broadcast coverage is pretty spotty and weak. That said, if anything, Canadian viewers hate cable companies even more than US viewers.
Netflix Nabs 10% of Canadians but They're Not Cutting the Cord
CBC News reports that Netflix has managed to sign up 10% of Canadians, but they're not dropping cable TV. While some analysts had predicted the rise of Netflix would take a big bite out of regular TV services — a phenomenon nicknamed "cord-cutting" — the survey results suggested the impact on c...
I don't want to prevent others from sharing, but it should definitely be an opt-in. And the opt-in should be stand-alone, not dependent on anything else - definitely don't want an "if you opt out, click the button below to cancel your account".
The law should be worded to ensure it must be a stand-alone opt-in. DO NOT leave this up to individual companies to decide.
Do You Want Netflix Sharing on Facebook?
While Netflix is working hard in Washington to get change the Video Protection Privacy Act updated for the web so Netflix can add Facebook sharing, AllThingsD cites a Citi Investment poll that shows 71% of Netflix customers don't care about sharing movie and TV show viewing information on Facebo...
I agree they should concentrate on popular content first, but having to twist statistics so it seems they're making good progress is pathetic. NetFlix committed to real progress. They shouldn't be allowed to BS their way out of that commitment. They should be well beyond 80% of all titles by this point.
Netflix Caption Update: 80% of Streaming Hours Captioned
Update: As noted by a number of readers and Tech of the Hub, Netflix hasn't provided captions for 80% of the streaming titles, they've captioned "80% of hours streamed." About half of all titles have captions, but Netflix has focused on the most popular titles first. Netflix posted an update on ...
I know it's just a label, but I wish they'd call it stereoscopic TV instead. They should reserve 3DTV for real 3D (holographic) television. When that comes out I just might buy. This stereoscopic stuff with glasses? No think you.
Netflix's Ted Sarandos Blogs about the Oscars; The Artist & Hugo on Streaming This Year
Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos wrote about the Academy Awards on the Netflix blog: The two biggest winners this year were "The Artist" and "Hugo." Both films celebrate the world's passion for the history of movies. "The Artist," using classic moviemaking techniques, is presented i...
"the current trend is disturbing"
And has been for more than a year. I agree with you; on the current trend, NetFlix is going to pursue content ever more aggressively, and price increases will continue till NetFlix is as expensive as cable. Sure, there will people that love it even then but it won't be the same people that loved NetFlix two years ago.
Netflix Signs Multi-Year Deal with Weinstein Company
Netflix announced a new multi-year deal with the Weinstein Company that will bring titles like The Artist, Undefeated, W.E., Coriolanus, and Bully to Netflix streaming exclusively within a year of the theatrical release. "We couldn't be happier to be working again with Harvey and Bob, who have ...
The fake quote is a bit sensational, but also a bit accurate. Parse each sentence. Some are clearly true, the rest arguably so.
Vanity Fair Takes a Close Look at Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
Vanity Fair has an interesting article about Netflix, Reed Hastings on Netflix's Recent Rise and Fall. “We weren’t doing the price change to raise profits or something,” he elaborated to me. “We were doing it because we were so focused on becoming the streaming company and the global streaming...
Perhaps they're starting to realize that licensing content is no walk in the park. I'll believe they've regained their sanity when they start marketing the DVD part of their service again, and when they knock a couple of bucks off the combined plans.
Netflix Brings Back DVD-Only Plan Signup
Netflix announced that they have brought back the DVD-only plan signup on the Netflix Blog. Starting today, our DVD and Blu-Ray loving audience can now easily sign up for a DVD only plan. Starting at just $7.99/month, you can enjoy around 100,000 titles on DVD. We are also offering a 1 month ...
DVDs have one thing that streaming will probably never have - first sale protection. Disks will remain the only affordable way to rent new releases for a long long time.
Streaming may be bad for the consumer in the long run. If studios can get most customers to purchase movies digitally they can discontinue disks altogether, and then we will truly be at the studio's mercy.
Is Netflix Crazy to be Abandoning the DVD Business?
Eric Schonfeld at TechCrunch dug into the Netflix Q4 earnings, and noticed that Netflix only gets an 11% margin on streaming, while DVD margins are more than 50%. Out of Netflix’s total $847 million in revenues last quarter, $476 million came from streaming and $370 million came from DVD rental...
"Looks like Redbox has told Warner Bros to take a hike with its effort to double the waiting period"
I see this as a stark demonstration of the power the studios have over companies that are shackled to streaming deals.
Everyone keeps saying that streaming is the future, but I think it's only one part of the future, and a fairly small part at that. The only way people are going to get most new releases affordably is on disk.
Redbox #1 DVD Renter & Fighting Warner 56 Day Delay
Business Insider via Inside Redbox cites a NPD Group report that says Redbox the #1 DVD renter (as Netflix is letting the DVD business decline gracefully to focus on streaming). In related news, Deadline reports that Redbox is refusing to honor the 56-day delay that Netflix took: Looks like R...
I think what you mean is that no streamer can call themselves a videophile. I think you'd find there are plenty of movie lovers that don't care that much about picture quality, nor do they limit themselves to titles that are only available on streaming.
Rumor: Netflix Shipping Center Layoffs Because of Declining DVD Shipments?
An anonymous source told HackingNetflix that about half of the staff at Netflix's Central Ops shipping center in Grove City, Ohio were laid off due to a huge drop in DVD shipments. The source said that the shipping center could process as many as a million discs per week, but was recently proces...
Not defending Hulu Plus but ...
Have you never paid for either satellite or cable? People have been paying for commercials for decades, and yes it is dumb.
Hulu Hits 1.5 Million Paid Subscribers & Shares Original Programming Plans
The Hulu blog shared some interesting numbers, including 1.5 million paid subscribers ("faster than any other video subscription service"). We grew the business 60% from 2010 to approximately $420 million in revenue. We exceeded our plan despite the soft advertising market (economy) in the seco...
And the marginalization of NetFlix deepens. Next we'll hear about the studios imposing rental quotas in addition to streaming quotas. I wonder how far the studios have to push it before half of NetFlix's customers leave in disgust - and how far NetFlix will let themselves be pushed.
DVD Rental Window Wait to Double to 56 Days for Warner Titles
Peter Kafka at AllThingsD reports that the DVD rental window, now 28 days, will double to 56 days for Warner titles at Netflix, Redbox, and Blockbuster. A new deal between Time Warner’s movie studio and Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster will double the “window” for new releases. That means the s...
Roku 1 was always on as well and updates automatically. I keep mine plugged into a smart strip so it's typically only on a couple/few hours a day (when my TV is on) but it updates just fine.
[The Roku is low power and doesn't really need a smart strip, but my receiver gobbles 20+ watts when 'off'.]
Roku Previews MHL-Enabled HDMI Streaming Stick for Non-Smart TVs
Roku announced a new "Streaming Stick" device that plugs into a MHL-enabled HDMI port to turn them into a Smart TV. The Streaming Stick is a Roku box with WIFI, processor, and access to Roku's 400+ channels. There are only a few MHL-enabled TVs now, but more are expected at CES next week. Roku r...
I'd like to see Google take them over, or better yet start competing with them. I know a lot of people hate and distrust Google but I'm not one of them.
Yahoo! Latest to be Rumored to be Buying Netflix
The Street reports that Yahoo! is the latest company to be interested in buying Netflix. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said on CNBCtoday that Netflix could be a takeover target for Yahoo, since it is in need of more content. "In the back of my mind, I wonder if they buy Netflix, that would...
One possible benny for customers - HBO DVDs from Netflix will come with extras.
HBO To Stop Giving Netflix Discounts on DVDs... War?
The NY Times reports that HBO will no longer offer Netflix wholesale pricing on DVDs, confirming Netflix CEO Reed Hastings concerns that HBO is Netflix's biggest threat. Netflix said a month ago that it sees HBO as its chief rival. And it appears that HBO agrees, as the company confirmed on Thu...
NetFlix should resolve to split the smart way, into
1) a dedicated streaming company (which will fail, because getting enough compelling content will be far too expensive)
2) a DVD + low cost streaming company (which will go gangbusters, just like they did up till they started ruining it in 2010 with too-expensive streaming deals).
What Resolutions Should Netflix Make for 2012?
We're all making resolutions (lose weight, exercise, stop doing something), so I thought it would be interesting to ask you what resolution(s) you make if you were the CEO of Netflix? What would you want Netflix to accomplish in 2012?
To be fair it's not NetFlix, it's the industry. Asylum studios exits solely to rip off blockbuster films. Undoubtedly NetFlix gets these films in one of their many deals; it'd be impractical for them to exclude them, and they do count in their marketing numbers.
If you think it's disappointing on NetFlix, imagine how you'd feel if you'd spent good money renting the VHS from a video store and had nothing else to watch. Back in the day it'd totally ruin your evening plans. Streaming is a vast improvement in that respect.
Perhaps in time streaming will completely destroy the business model for places like The Asylum.
Netflix Streaming vs. Amazon: By the Numbers
Tech of the Hub has put together a comparison of Netflix streaming vs. Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu, and Hulu Plus. Given that Netflix and Amazon Prime offer similar types of content, I thought it would be interesting to do a more in-depth comparison between the two (Hulu Plus also offers all-yo...
After you redeem this you have to return 2 disks to get your next disk shipped. The timing of this makes me think they trying to increasing shipments now so that shipments will be reduced around Christmas - lots of people returning one disk and getting none in return.
Netflix Offering a Bonus DVD Rental for the Holidays?
Reader Brian received a free DVD rental -- has anyone else seen this?
More...
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