"Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded."
Walter Abbott, (b. 1950), Media observer, blogger and commentator
ping
How is our bandwithh capacity doing? Will our DSL/Cable internet soon slow to a crawl from 6:00 to 11:00 pm?
“which allows consumers to bypass their cable box to stream movies and shows”
With the added benefit of not paying for cr*p that I dont want and I don’t support. MSNBC, CNN, NBC
A bunch of years ago there was a song with the lyric, "57 channels and nothing on"...with Netflix streaming tens of thousands of choices that isn't likely to be the case.
If cable went to an alacarte format you might at least have channels you want, but as it is, when you subscribe to cable you're paying for foreign language programming, home shopping programming, pointless channels such as MSNBC and all the special programming that is niche related. Some will want those niche programming but not everyone wants golfing/cooking/traveling/Christian/sports/public access etc. There are people who will want one or more, but forcing everyone to buy all of them means you're paying for programming you don't want.
It doesn’t matter how many streaming movies you can get. If they don’t offer what you want to watch, it’s like cable.
The studios will just pull the rights to stream and people will be forced to have disks just like before.
It’s the reason why Blockbuster just announced that they will have rentals sooner than Netflix and Redbox.
We went for the extra bucks and got the one disk a month package. Anything that is near to popular is DVD only.
Content-on-demand is the future, like it or not.
I saw that announcement by Reed Hastings that Netflix is a digital streaming company now. But they will have to put PLAY next to a whole lot more movies to make that fly. I think people watch streaming movies because it is included in the mail subscription (ours was 8.99 for 1 DVD at a time, as often as desired, plus any streaming. Now it went to 9.99 for the same). But the choices of instant play are very limited, compared to what you can order on DVD. They recently added lots of old movies, from the ‘40’s and 50’s, which we really enjoy, but I don’t know how many people will want to just watch old movies.
“... but it’s also proving to be a big headache for TV providers and movie studios, which increasingly see Netflix as a competitive threat, even as they sell Netflix their content. “
Hmmm....how about: but its also proving to be a big headache for Arabs, who increasingly see Jews as a competitive threat, even as they sell Jews their land...
...and life takes an unexpected turn. Doh!
Fot those of you that have it, I'd recommend watching The Art Of The Steal
The true story of a multi-billion dollar art heist and how they got away with it.
Personally, I think Netflix should insulate itself by carefully splitting its DVD mail operations from its streaming operations. The two have completely different business models, as well as totally different, but severe business risks.
Either side could be wiped out “overnight” by changes in the law, yet the other could likely remain untouched. And while it’s very bad to lose half your company, it is far worse to lose it all.
As far as disk rentals go, there have been a surfeit of ill advised and authoritarian copyright efforts in the past, any of which could have ruined them, but there also seems to be no end to such efforts. Added to which is the precarious situation of the Post Office, and you have a high risk business.
Conversely, live streaming is even more fraught with risk. More than anything else right now, bandwidth providers are resentful of the very high demands placed on them by streaming movies. Their argument is legitimate: why should they pay millions so that Netflix can take advantage of their system?
Net neutrality, or the lack thereof, could change everything overnight. And Netflix streaming could be effectively over.
So again, it would be a smashing good idea for Netflix to legally, if not physically, have a division.
I have no time to watch TV and movies. Nice to have so many options for something I don’t do.
Tell that to the trees in Oregon.
This is incorrect. You cannot download anything (i.e. save it to your hard drive). You can stream only. This is an important distinction.
My most common mail item these days is Netflix movies. It is no doubt keeping the US Postal Service afloat.
I could easily see in the near future that I might not want or need cable or satellite TV. What is even more amazing is that Netfliks is reducing the price for its basic streaming service and the new Roku box is about 40% cheaper than the one I purchased two years ago. This is what free market capitalism and innovation is all about. My only fear is that the government will interfere with my Internet access or add new Internet taxes.
Unintended consequences.
NETFLIX data flow will dominate the spines of the Internet, and those data streams will be given priority over other traffic from non-pay websites.
Non-pay websites will have to PAY for higher priority, which means they will have to change to a pay website.
The days of FREE VIDEO are almost over. YOUTUBE will become a ‘paid-member’ only website soon.
All FREE VIDEO/MOVIE websites will disappear very soon.
Many already have, the ones left have had to delete most of their movie files due to RIGHTHAVEN and other legal challenges.
At some point I realized netflix is a superior company being run by its founder. This made me think, hey, why not buy some netflix stock. So I looked it up and apparantly a lot of people already had my great idea! Expensive!
How long before the movie companies cut out the middleman and begin streaming their product themselves?
And will all those multi-screen movie theatres with their $5 popcorn go dark?
I started with Netflix about 6 months ago.
I can stream and DVDs, without commercials, rather than have the repetitious same-ole movies on extended cable. [How many times can cable play Men in Black or Independence Day in a single year? Answer dozens and dozens.]
Even with their recent $1 increase in the 2-DVD’s + unlimited streaming pricing, Netflix is a good deal.
I bought the Roku box which allows me to stream direct to the TV.
Netflix’s streaming competition is primarily Hulu, which is struggling and overcharging with their HuluPlus [the Plus is Pay subscription PLUS still get interruptive commercials].
I don’t have cable because I don’t own a television.
I watch a few shows each week on Hulu, and an occasional movie on Netflix. I haven’t been to a movie theater to watch a new release in almost 2 decades.
My life is better for avoiding the passive idiot box and the “programmers” who fill it with crap 24/7.
My behavior, multiplied by millions, may hurt the business model of Hollywood studios and major television networks. I don’t care.
Production methods have changed, distribution models have changed. Adapt or die.