Posted on 01/01/2019 11:15:25 PM PST by SunkenCiv
VentureBeat reported last week that Netflix has now officially made the decision to kill support for iTunes billing for new and returning customers. Subscribers that are currently subscribed via iTunes will still be able to pay through Apple, but new and returning members will be directed to sign up for direct billing outside of the app.
The move follows a similar one from May, when Netflix pulled support for billing through Alphabet's Google Play. That move also allowed existing members to continue billing through Google Play, but that payment method is not available for new and returning customers.
That means Netflix has now effectively removed in-app subscriptions for new and returning users on the two dominant mobile platforms.
Netflix now has over 130 million paid memberships globally, but its domestic and international segments have very different dynamics. The core U.S. market is quite mature and saturated, with member growth rapidly decelerating; Netflix added just 1 million paid subscriptions in the U.S. in the third quarter. In other words, Netflix is shifting the focus of its U.S. business from member growth to profitability.
(Excerpt) Read more at fool.com ...
It was a new year yesterday, it's an old year now.
still feels pretty new to me ;^)
And...now that’s stuck in my head.
Good to hear some perspective on this. I think this story shows an interesting trend to remove the middleman.
After Apple and all the other tech giants used the web to replace traditional distribution of content, now they are being to get a bit of their own medicine.
Nice to see those tech giants fighting each other.
Who needs NETFLIX? Snowflakes and cold hands?
Rather than paying BO’B and his band of pirates for the overblown service, why not install PLUTO and watch from just about anywhere, anyway.
This You Tube will tell you more, if interested...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZZpR5NRECc
Skating away on the thin ice of a new year
What other kind of customers are there?
It’s not really the middleman per se, but apples cut for being the middle man is quite high, especially for a recurring subscription.
One thing to take a 30% cut on the initial sale, when you provide the store and the order processing and what not, but a completely different story to take 30% for a subscription... though after one year it drops to 15% cut, that’s still too high. At that point you are literally nothing more than a credit card processor and provide confirmation the subscription is valid...
Time takes its Tull...
Great.
I went to sleep and it was finally gone.
I wake up and you put it back.
*thanks, man*
:D
I hate myself for laughing at that.
Ask not for whom the Belle Tulls...
Netflix became a household name. They are big enough to elbow themselves into a better seat at the table.
Monopoly power is the real evil that must be regulated. Apple and Google are monopolies,
Actually, as someone who has run software distribution firms for decades, I have ZERO problem with Apple or Google taking 30% of the gross, and handling all the infrastructure....
I have taken care of all those tasks, personally when I selling software, letting them keep 30% is no problem for me... However I don’t do subscriptions in my apps. And even if I did, I probably wouldn’t mind the 15% rate, and the 30% rate first year, probably would be okay with.
But Netflix isn’t BUILDING its brand or its identity or its user base due to anything APPLE or GOOGLE is doing, they are self sustaining, and marketing, etc etc.. people don’t “discover” Netflix because of Apple or Google... So I understand them saying screw it, we’ll handle the subscription and infrastructure ourselves, we already are doing it for our web site, and countless other devices... why should we let Google or Apple take 30-15% of our revenue for doing something we already do ourselves.
*quietly pounding head on table*
:D
I sell my own market research reports and services — and I also wouldn’t mind a distributor willing to sell to their audience at a 50% commission.
In truth, most successful small businesses are quasi-monopolies where you have created an “unfair” advantage.
But the digital giants are different. No company should rule over 90% of search results.
Thanks, I wasn't sure anyone would notice that, or know about it, and it happened right away!
It means that NetFlix is doing some serious (and temporary) budget cutting, in its largest and most profitable single market. They must know how many customers actually stream content on phones, and how much content, and Google Play and iTunes drew the short straw. It probably won't last, but it won't go back to the old rates, either.
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