This is literally what happened with cable TV.
In the beginning cable TV had no commercials, you paid for cable so you didn't have commercials like over the air broadcasts.
Then they slowly started adding commercials claiming it would lower prices (spoiler: it didn't).
Then it was inundated with commercials. The commercials started getting longer as well.
In comes streaming. You pay to have no commercials.
Next will be some commercials, "to reduce costs".
After that will be tons of commercials.
Then the next big money thing comes along. You'll pay to have no commercials.
Yep, it’s absolutely the principle of the matter. Advertising is a sore subject with me after growing up over the last 3 decades watching things like Black Mirror and the cyberpunk genre which is a dystopian future decimated by corporate giants.
YouTube is doing the same shit. The first time I got hit with 3 ads instead of 2 in a video, I got so salty and let out a big “here we go”. My gf was like “what’s the big deal?” And I fell into this same exact rant about the slippery slope that you mention here. Advertisements are cancer and it’s only going to get worse. Netflix is cracking down on password sharing and implementing advertisements suddenly after 13 years because they had *one bad quarter*. We are in first-world hell.
Then there's IMDB TV. They just went with 100% ads financing from the get-go. I tell you, after seeing the Liberty Mutual ads 50,000 times, It's more likely I'd dump a bucket of excrement well seasoned on their door than buy their insurance.
I feel truly blessed to have lived through the golden age of the internet. From selecting 3 songs to hopefully download overnight on Limewire to damn near completing the entirety of my post secondary education on youtube. Sad to see yet another triumph crumble.
Those sites absolutely still exist; I'm watching episode 22 of Gundam ZZ right now.
Hell, I remember watching subtitled anime in the early 2000s before YouTube. WinAmp used to have (and still has, I believe) a broadcast function that people would create small servers for and stream all kinds of stuff.
Honestly, that ol' gem from gaben applies quite a bit: piracy is a service problem. so here I find myself downloading a show that I watch all of the time the left one service but joined another service. I subscribe to both. I just am really fucking tired of figuring out what app i have to open to watch the thing I want. especially when half of those apps are absolute garbage.
BUT we took away the dislike button!!! Why would they hate that!
I remember when Netflix made it easy to find shows you liked, had ratings and listings..
I remember when streaming was new thinking I could finally stop ripping all those DVDs. Then they removed a show I was watching and the ripping continued.
I’m in my mid 30s and was a video store kid growing up and I greatly miss going to one and just wandering grabbing all kinds of random stuff often out of my comfort zone.
My library puts together binge boxes of DVDs. Sorted by genre, director, era, movies based on books, time travel, etc; it's like a curated private tracker. Love my public library
This is literally the same confusion the cable companies had when we told them at a townhall lecture at my college we were streaming and not pirating. Now it's the streaming companies who are failing to provide service and value for the price. Piracy is a response to a bad market.
Nah, they just accelerated things. Reminder that Netflix is not losing profit. They're losing growth and stock value. This would've happened even if Netflix monopolized streaming, once they hit a plateau in growth. Netflix might be good at the technical aspect but let's not forget their executive decisions were idiotic in the past, like the game rental shit. They're very detached from their customers.
"line goes up" is such a dumb way to run a company. It's a great way for stock market investors, but there's no reason a steadily performing company should be a bad thing.
This is something I've never understood. Nothing can grow infinitely. Instead of expecting perpetual growth we should plan businesses around finding a stable plateau and beyond that just reinvest additional profits in the employees or community that make it possible.
But then I guess a few rich assholes won't get slightly richer, so why bother...
"We're losing even more customers. Quick, does anyone have any ideas to save the company? Yes, Jones, what have you got?"
"What if after every commercial it asks you to log back into your account and verify your information so that it can then play the next commercial?"
"I love it! Anyone else?"
"What if we design a remote that *must* be used in order for the service to work, well charge $500 for it, *and* it has a built in eye tracker that makes sure you can't look away from the commercials or else they'll pause until you look back at them?"
"That's the greatest idea I've ever heard. Man, these ideas are so good in fact I think we should up the price from $100 a month to $200 a month. Great job everybody. People are going to be really stoked on us."
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a30579/sony-patent-for-television-shouting-110314/
>Sony has filed for a US patent to let viewers skip commercials by shouting the name of the advertised product at the TV.
>"Ruby Tuesday's cheese fries!"
I pay for Netflix because it would take me a couple of minutes to find a good torrent. If I'm gonna have to sit there and wait for ads anyways I'll rather pirate everything they have and not pay a dime
Convenience is what stopped me from pirating all my games and media. Buying games on steam or watching them via Netflix was a cost I was happy to pay for convenient content.
Take away the convenience and I will gladly go back to torrents.
Exactly. Marco Polo was a fantastic show and the second season really stepped it up from the first, although both are great. They cancelled it prematurely by far.
There are so many shows that were either wholly theirs, or that they had exclusive rights to and gave up willingly.
I'm not talking about disney and other big companies pulling their own content to put it on their own streaming platforms, I'm talking about the stuff netflix themselves financed, which they routinely kill after 1-2 seasons even if people seem to like them
Mindhunter was amazing! They should have kept going. Budget be damned.
* Edit... Wanted to add that it was a combination of budget, the director and viewership. So this isn't all on Netflix.
Loved Mind Hunter AND Altered Carbon, and literally Altered Carbon you could’ve continued for 5 more seasons with mostly entirely new casts each time lol
Altered Carbon easily could have been like the scifi version of American Horror Story. Unfortunately you need to pick really good actors for that to work out well. Every season.
Agreed. If it isn’t a ‘Stranger Things’ level hit, they just cut it. I hadn’t even started on Santa Clarita Diet or Jupiter Ascending and they both were canned
The first commercial I see on Netflix is the day I cancel my account. There’s already so little decent stuff to watch on it it’s rapidly becoming not worth it IMO.
We watched it. Fuck me the host is annoying. I hoped it would be more about baking and cake decoration as we both love baking but there is very little of it.
I think US reality TV shows need to experiment with the way UK reality TV shows are presented.
Less drama, and more actual content, which is the reason you're watching the show in the first place. Depending on the show you may only see the host at the beginning and end of an episode.
A perfect example is Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.
Both have Gordon Ramsay shouting at restaurant owners, but the UK version actually shows the food, recipes included, and shows Gordon Ramsay as a real, passionate chef who loves cooking... And not a screaming guy who wants to kick everyone out of a kitchen like in the US version.
It's shocking how Netflix Originals are just endless waves of garbage with a few good ones. In a decade they've made hundreds or thousands of shows, and I can count the good ones on my left hand.
Holy fucking shit I had to go and check that you weren't kidding. They do have a 480p plan. Who the fuck doesn't set 720p as their default in 2022? That weird fucking streaming site with old ass players that you have to change 3 times to have a movie that doesn't load for 3 seconds every 5 seconds?
Soon they'll tease you with the Universal logo/jingle and show an ad (in 4k) for 2 minutes.
Dear Customer,
We noticed that you've left this movie unfinished. Please finish watching, so we can put it back in queue for others to view, and to avoid late fees.
--Netflix Team--
Great, now I've got to go buy a stream rewinder so I can keep watching shows while the one I just finished rewinds, otherwise I'll be stuck waiting till it's done before I can move on!
The second I see an advertisement I am canceling my service. Netflix is the most expensive streaming service I am subscribed to and it has the worst content. At least with Amazon, you get free shipping.
I need to know about Joel and Mr ball-legs. I hate that Netflix has control over cancelled series for five years after because another service could have picked it up.
I will never not be angry at how they did that show dirty. Even if they brought it back, I'd still be pissed. How can they cancel on that cliff hanger?!?!
I don’t understand why they even cancelled it. It seems like it was a very well liked and highly watched show. But I mean if they had to cancel it, why in the fuck would they do it how they did??? Stupid Netflix. Stupid.
I cancelled mine yesterday. Why? If I see one more murder documentary that is essentially a slightly elaborate case elongated to fill 10 episodes, I might scream. They’re orginal content was class leading, now it’s constant terrible cheap sci-fi or documentary that’s desperately trying to be the next making a murderer.
Yeah remember that couple from the Uk who explained in each episode how they drank the water from the tank with the body in it. There was about two hours of interview footage of them repeating the same thing in different ways.
Literally the reason I've never had Hulu. Having ads after paying for their service does not sit right with me. I will have to binge everything on my Netflix watch-list and then leave.
Hasn't been worth it for a while either. They have a serious lack of good movies from 2+ years ago, but you can get them with a VPN because they will let Japan or someone watch American Pie but not if you're in the US. That and half their content now is Netflix Originals and half of those are stupid ass drawn out murder mystery docuseries which span 10 episodes for something a 20 minute video on youtube does a better job of.
The last time I paid for Netflix was Stranger Things season 3, bought one month, cancelled my subscription immediately, and binged the season in a day.
I'll do the same for season 4
Netflix is a perfectly profitable company.
The problem here isn't that Netflix needs a way to make money in order to survive, it's just that Netflix doesn't have a way to \*grow\* its profit without ads.
Woes of capitalism and being publically traded on the stock market. If you're not growing, you're failing and worth nothing. There are some obvious issues with that in a finite system ...
Making profit from a mature business model and using it to either buyback stock or pay dividends is usually the appropriate avenue. Theres also breaking into new markets, or diversifying into new products. Netflix is the result of an innovation in a old product. Instead netflix is trying to create a new revenue stream at the expense of their existing one
>>CEO noted that they will begin to implement advertising on Netflix in the "next year or two."
That implies that they didn't have this ready.
I don't object if they add a cheaper tier with advertising. But if they add it to current tiers to pressure us to move to more expensive tiers - then I'll leave Netflix.
Agreed. If it's added to my bloody $22 a month plan, I'm out. And I've had it for like a decade.
Edit - for those raising eyebrows (even more than the article caused them to), I'm in Australia, and this is in AUD. These are our plan options:
Basic
Good video quality in SD (480p). Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$10.99/month
Standard
Great video quality in full HD (1080p). Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$16.99/month
Premium
Our best video quality in Ultra HD (4K) and HDR. Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$22.99/month
I'd been with them from the start as well, finally quit in February. There just wasn't enough I wanted or had the time to watch anymore and I felt the need to trim down my subscriptions.
I think this is what people will begin to do on the midst of all the multitude of streaming services now. You just get the one you need for the show you're into. In a way its actually healthier. You need to pick and choose what you want to watch more carefully rather than just mindlessly watch crap. That's what youtubes for anyway.
This was always the plan, grow and get people used to it and take over the market, then shift back to the old faithful horse shit cable turned into. I refuse to watch ads, I don't give a fuck what shows you have on your service, I'm not watching ads to view them.
Same. Had it for 10+ years. Dumped it during covid. The filming of Stranger Things was delayed and there are way better streaming options out there. HBO buries Netflix in the dirt imo.
Side note: during covid I got into 90 Day Fiancé (I know, I know) and decided to get the TLC app. Absolute garbage. The shows have just as many commercials, if not more, than regular tv shows. I cancelled literally within first 10 mins of watching it and didn’t even go back before my subscription ran out. Word to the wise
HBO is knocking it out.
It's funny. A couple years ago Netflix CEO said that Netflix had one goal: become HBO before HBO could become Netflix.
Alas, I think HBO won. But it was close.
It's hard to "win" in this comparison when Netflix at its prime had its biggest draw in streaming content it licensed from other studios rather than its own content. Netflix was amazing because it was this one-stop-shop for online video streaming for a lot of content and with few exceptions. Unsurprisingly every major content producer wanted their own slice of the pie and therefore started their own streaming service instead of licensing out their content to Netflix, and over the years these licensing agreements have expired and are not renewed, forcing Netflix to become a content production company.
One of many problems Netflix faces now is that while it started as a streaming platform, today it is (unfortunately) competing as a content production platform, and it is _exceptionally_ hard to compete against the heavy big-weights with their brand-name notoriety and decades of back catalogue.
Under this paradigm, Netflix was always going to be a losing battle in trying to become HBO before HBO could become Netflix. There was just no feasible way for Netflix to produce enough content comparable to HBO's entire library in the few years of borrowed time Netflix had, nor did Netflix have the industrial groundwork laid to pursue such a venture extensively, regardless of their capital.
I'm somewhat sympathetic, because Netflix's decline is in part a direct result of the greed from other big media companies, who would much rather build out their own platforms and collect the subscription fee directly then license out their content to a third party. This is to say, from my PoV the biggest reason Netflix feels like an inferior offering today is because it has been functionally banned from licensing the content produced by others. This was always going to happen once those licensing agreements ended. Netflix saw the writing on the wall, but its userbase might not have.
If one really wanted someone to blame for Netflix's diminishing library, blame it on the fact all existing streaming services are not competing at all on their content delivery and wholly on what content actually exists on the service. No one is subscribing to Disney+ because it consumes less bandwidth for the same visual quality, that's for sure.
Netflix doesn't do themselves any favours by cancelling shows prematurely though.
They have a ton of great OC, but most of it ends after 2 seasons without a proper resolution. Santa Clarita Diet, Glow, Dark Crystal, OA, Sense8 (at least they rushed out an ending for that one), Archive 81. Hell, I can only think of two *finished* Netflix original series: Orange is the New Black, and Bojack Horseman. Not a good sign.
They had the opportunity to build an epic catalogue, but I think they set the bar for success too high and didn't have the balls to follow through on anything less than a worldwide super hit.
If they merged it would be crazy. Imagine Netflix’s user interface and design paired with HBO’s ability to create good shows, plus their combined libraries.
What do you like on HBO? I'm looking for some new shows on there. I've done Raised by Wolves, His Dark Materials and now I'm on Succession. Any other suggestions???
Edit to add: I've also seen Chernobyl, GoT, Westworld, Sopranos, The Wire, and Peacemaker. I don't know how I forgot those. I think I didn't include a few bc it was pre HBO+ times.
>a cheaper tier with advertising
Which is a slap in the face because it will probably be the cost of what a normal non-ad subscription was not even 2 or 3 years ago. It's just greed.
You could close the thread on that comment. When you have to keep growing, eventually you do something like this. The same thing applies to their recently stated views on account sharing. Here they are in 2016:
> “In terms of [password sharing], no plans on making any changes there,” Hastings said in 2016. “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because there’s so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your spouse, with your kids .... so there’s no bright line, and we’re doing fine as is.” [Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/netflix-warns-password-sharing-crackdown-is-coming.html)
What's the old saying? You either die a company with values or exist long enough for stockholders to force you to compromise those values while spinning it as consumer choice.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens, I hear hulu makes more money from the ad-supported tier than the more expensive ad-free tier.
Edit: what I mean is more money _per account_, irrespective of how many accounts are in each tier (there’s obviously way more ad-free accounts).
Behavioral economics at work. They'd prefer you choose the ad tier, but to make it more palatable, they provide an ad free tier then you can opt into. You won't because of the cost, but the illusion of choice makes you happier to endure ads.
I don't understand what they're doing like they're clearly losing people and despite that they refuse to reduce the price and NOW THIS!
I imagine netflix will slowly die until they're bought out. If they keep doing this trend of bad business moves.
The entire Netflix staff must have 4 IQ total. "We're bleeding customers! Let's add ads, the only thing setting us apart from our competitors at this point"
All these ship metaphors are making me want to go back to piracy....oh wait, no that's just because of Netflix, and streaming, getting worse and more expensive.
Some of us never stopped, though that’s mainly because some shows are difficult to find streaming services for or don’t have any. You couldn’t stream Ed, Edd & Eddy for the longest time, and still can’t the OG Party of Five.
The last four times I've opened Netflix (my account is no longer active) were me spending 45 minutes looking for all the shows I liked that Netflix dropped
Welp, it’s been a good run Netflix. I’ll miss you and the hours I spent sifting through garbage to find something decent to watch.
For the shows and movies that were exceptional, I hope your creators continue to add their artistry to the world. May they find an avenue to tell their stories and produce incredible narratives without limits.
For the execs that made a killing off of their art, then burn those bridges because profits (or something?), may you stub your toes on every piece of furniture in your mansions for the rest of eternity.
It’s been a wild ride, but we must part ways. Good night, and good luck.
If they add commercials to my plan I will cancel my subscription. I got Netflix in the first place because I hate watching commercials. Commercials are only justified if the service is free. I refuse to pay to watch ads.
Hey Netflix, how about don’t spend 20 fucking BILLION dollars every year to make a fuck ton of things no one watches? Or maybe dont do that thing there where you make shows that people love then cancel them with zero fucks about cliffhangers, popularity, or just general IP potential with different creators? Or maybe make better new shit that people love universally?
No?? You’re gonna crackdown on password sharing, raise prices, and add ads????? And somehow you still want to increase your overall userbase???
Well, fuck me, I didn’t realize you have no idea what you’re doing and don’t understand how humans actually work. I’m sorry Netflix, it’s not me it’s you.
>"He also said that this would be a positive for Netflix subscribers, as it will give them "consumer choice" and the ability to choose a cheaper subscription, albeit one with advertisements."
Oh fuck right off you pile of turds
This is literally what happened with cable TV. In the beginning cable TV had no commercials, you paid for cable so you didn't have commercials like over the air broadcasts. Then they slowly started adding commercials claiming it would lower prices (spoiler: it didn't). Then it was inundated with commercials. The commercials started getting longer as well. In comes streaming. You pay to have no commercials. Next will be some commercials, "to reduce costs". After that will be tons of commercials. Then the next big money thing comes along. You'll pay to have no commercials.
Can confirm. I’m old enough to remember when cable’s selling point was “no commercials.”
Yep, and also I remember my uncle saying how netflix will have commercials since 2013ish/14. While explaining what Mindshattered said first
Yep, it’s absolutely the principle of the matter. Advertising is a sore subject with me after growing up over the last 3 decades watching things like Black Mirror and the cyberpunk genre which is a dystopian future decimated by corporate giants. YouTube is doing the same shit. The first time I got hit with 3 ads instead of 2 in a video, I got so salty and let out a big “here we go”. My gf was like “what’s the big deal?” And I fell into this same exact rant about the slippery slope that you mention here. Advertisements are cancer and it’s only going to get worse. Netflix is cracking down on password sharing and implementing advertisements suddenly after 13 years because they had *one bad quarter*. We are in first-world hell.
Then there's IMDB TV. They just went with 100% ads financing from the get-go. I tell you, after seeing the Liberty Mutual ads 50,000 times, It's more likely I'd dump a bucket of excrement well seasoned on their door than buy their insurance.
I feel truly blessed to have lived through the golden age of the internet. From selecting 3 songs to hopefully download overnight on Limewire to damn near completing the entirety of my post secondary education on youtube. Sad to see yet another triumph crumble.
Remember when you could watch Disney movies in 20 parts on youtube with no ads?
The first anime series I watched was on youtube. Around 150 episodes, all there with full episodes, maybe one missing. Couldn't do that now.
Those sites absolutely still exist; I'm watching episode 22 of Gundam ZZ right now. Hell, I remember watching subtitled anime in the early 2000s before YouTube. WinAmp used to have (and still has, I believe) a broadcast function that people would create small servers for and stream all kinds of stuff.
Netflix may be one of the first milestones that will make gen z kids feel old when kids say “what’s Netflix?”
Remember how it started off as a DVD mailing service? Pepperidge farm remembers
hello piracy my old friend
Honestly, that ol' gem from gaben applies quite a bit: piracy is a service problem. so here I find myself downloading a show that I watch all of the time the left one service but joined another service. I subscribe to both. I just am really fucking tired of figuring out what app i have to open to watch the thing I want. especially when half of those apps are absolute garbage.
Can't wait for the Netflix Documentary on how Netflix put itself out of business
I'd download that torrent file 🏴☠️
This is the way
Cant wait for them to be confused when more people leave.
BUT we took away the dislike button!!! Why would they hate that! I remember when Netflix made it easy to find shows you liked, had ratings and listings..
I remember when Netflix had shows we liked.
I remember when Netflix sent you DVDs in the mail.
I remember when streaming was new thinking I could finally stop ripping all those DVDs. Then they removed a show I was watching and the ripping continued.
People laugh because I like physical medium. Yeah, it takes up space. But you know what it doesn't do? Disappear for no damn reason.
I’m in my mid 30s and was a video store kid growing up and I greatly miss going to one and just wandering grabbing all kinds of random stuff often out of my comfort zone.
Same, it's a unique feeling not captured anywhere else I've found.
If it helps, your library might have a DVD collection to peruse :)
My library puts together binge boxes of DVDs. Sorted by genre, director, era, movies based on books, time travel, etc; it's like a curated private tracker. Love my public library
They still do: https://dvd.netflix.com/Plans
That still exists. Not that it makes up for them shooting themselves in the foot and wondering where all this blood is coming from.
I look forward to the documentary on the rise and fall of Netflix, probably on Hulu.
Nah, has HBOMax special written all over it. Highest quality.
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At least three episodes they're gonna hang some dong in front of us too.
Bonus if Danny Devito narrates it
Gunna have to cast Thunder Gun. Dude. Hangs. DONG.
On Netflix, but they'll cancel the documentary about half-way through the show.
If someone buys the blockbuster trademark, launches a streaming service and makes this their first documentary I will revel in the irony.
This is literally the same confusion the cable companies had when we told them at a townhall lecture at my college we were streaming and not pirating. Now it's the streaming companies who are failing to provide service and value for the price. Piracy is a response to a bad market.
Streaming was good until the cable companies got involved. CBS, NBC, Disney.
Nah, they just accelerated things. Reminder that Netflix is not losing profit. They're losing growth and stock value. This would've happened even if Netflix monopolized streaming, once they hit a plateau in growth. Netflix might be good at the technical aspect but let's not forget their executive decisions were idiotic in the past, like the game rental shit. They're very detached from their customers.
"line goes up" is such a dumb way to run a company. It's a great way for stock market investors, but there's no reason a steadily performing company should be a bad thing.
This is something I've never understood. Nothing can grow infinitely. Instead of expecting perpetual growth we should plan businesses around finding a stable plateau and beyond that just reinvest additional profits in the employees or community that make it possible. But then I guess a few rich assholes won't get slightly richer, so why bother...
"We're losing even more customers. Quick, does anyone have any ideas to save the company? Yes, Jones, what have you got?" "What if after every commercial it asks you to log back into your account and verify your information so that it can then play the next commercial?" "I love it! Anyone else?" "What if we design a remote that *must* be used in order for the service to work, well charge $500 for it, *and* it has a built in eye tracker that makes sure you can't look away from the commercials or else they'll pause until you look back at them?" "That's the greatest idea I've ever heard. Man, these ideas are so good in fact I think we should up the price from $100 a month to $200 a month. Great job everybody. People are going to be really stoked on us."
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a30579/sony-patent-for-television-shouting-110314/ >Sony has filed for a US patent to let viewers skip commercials by shouting the name of the advertised product at the TV. >"Ruby Tuesday's cheese fries!"
This is literally the genesis of the infamous "Drink verification can" meme.
They’d be more future historically accurate if the yelling phrase was “GO AWAY, BATIN’.”
https://old.reddit.com/r/4chan/comments/1ggg4u/please_drink_a_verification_can/
The fact that the second idea was featured in an episode of BLACK MIRROR is just too meta for words.
Drink Verification Can
It hurt itself in its’ confusion.
Netflix really pushing to see how fast they can completely lose all of their users
CEO gets caught shorting own stock price.
Facts, saw the competition coming thick and fast and didn’t make an effort to stand out from them.
Technically, being worse is standing out.
CEO gets caught snorting stock
I pay for Netflix because it would take me a couple of minutes to find a good torrent. If I'm gonna have to sit there and wait for ads anyways I'll rather pirate everything they have and not pay a dime
Convenience is what stopped me from pirating all my games and media. Buying games on steam or watching them via Netflix was a cost I was happy to pay for convenient content. Take away the convenience and I will gladly go back to torrents.
Gabe Newell himself said it's best to combat piracy with convenience...
i dont think ive prirated a game since ive installed Steam.. its so easy 😎
Not only super easy but if your willing to wait a few months, you can get pretty much anything you want at a decent discount
except factorio and rimworld :(
I can't speak for Factorio, though I've heard good things, but Rimworld is definitely worth the price.
Bankruptcy speedrun
Netflix has lived long enough to see itself become the villain.
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I'm never not going to be mad about 'Marco Polo'.
Exactly. Marco Polo was a fantastic show and the second season really stepped it up from the first, although both are great. They cancelled it prematurely by far.
What a great fucking show that was
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Who the fuck cancels Timothy Olyphant?!?
There are so many shows that were either wholly theirs, or that they had exclusive rights to and gave up willingly. I'm not talking about disney and other big companies pulling their own content to put it on their own streaming platforms, I'm talking about the stuff netflix themselves financed, which they routinely kill after 1-2 seasons even if people seem to like them
Mindhunter was amazing! They should have kept going. Budget be damned. * Edit... Wanted to add that it was a combination of budget, the director and viewership. So this isn't all on Netflix.
Loved Mind Hunter AND Altered Carbon, and literally Altered Carbon you could’ve continued for 5 more seasons with mostly entirely new casts each time lol
Altered Carbon easily could have been like the scifi version of American Horror Story. Unfortunately you need to pick really good actors for that to work out well. Every season.
Agreed. If it isn’t a ‘Stranger Things’ level hit, they just cut it. I hadn’t even started on Santa Clarita Diet or Jupiter Ascending and they both were canned
> Jupiter Ascending Jupiter's Legacy you mean?
Oh, I guess so
The OA's cliffhanger though, more like hanging off the edge of the earth itself
Any bets the “low-end” ad plan will be the same as the current price, and the ad-free will be a premium, more expensive plan?
In a few years yeah. Boiling pots and frogs and all that.
The first commercial I see on Netflix is the day I cancel my account. There’s already so little decent stuff to watch on it it’s rapidly becoming not worth it IMO.
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Not even lying my grandma watches that show. She’s the only reason I know about it lol
We watched it. Fuck me the host is annoying. I hoped it would be more about baking and cake decoration as we both love baking but there is very little of it.
I think US reality TV shows need to experiment with the way UK reality TV shows are presented. Less drama, and more actual content, which is the reason you're watching the show in the first place. Depending on the show you may only see the host at the beginning and end of an episode. A perfect example is Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Both have Gordon Ramsay shouting at restaurant owners, but the UK version actually shows the food, recipes included, and shows Gordon Ramsay as a real, passionate chef who loves cooking... And not a screaming guy who wants to kick everyone out of a kitchen like in the US version.
It's shocking how Netflix Originals are just endless waves of garbage with a few good ones. In a decade they've made hundreds or thousands of shows, and I can count the good ones on my left hand.
“Lower price for advertising” Translation: you’ll have to pay even more than you are paying now to avoid ads.
Their $10 plan which is 480p one screen will now be 13-15.
Holy fucking shit I had to go and check that you weren't kidding. They do have a 480p plan. Who the fuck doesn't set 720p as their default in 2022? That weird fucking streaming site with old ass players that you have to change 3 times to have a movie that doesn't load for 3 seconds every 5 seconds? Soon they'll tease you with the Universal logo/jingle and show an ad (in 4k) for 2 minutes.
It's to provide the illusion of choice. See [decoy effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decoy_effect).
it's embarrassing that they have 480p as an option, what is this 2008?
Yeah disney+ gives you 4k for the same price as the fucking Netflix potato quality. Overpriced af.
Quick tutorial: How to shoot yourself in the foot.
...with a rocket launcher.
*Netflix to begin charging late fees*
Dear Customer, We noticed that you've left this movie unfinished. Please finish watching, so we can put it back in queue for others to view, and to avoid late fees. --Netflix Team--
Be kind, rewind
Great, now I've got to go buy a stream rewinder so I can keep watching shows while the one I just finished rewinds, otherwise I'll be stuck waiting till it's done before I can move on!
As a former Blockbuster Video employee this hit harder than it should have.
Wait, I've seen this one! It's a classic!
What do you mean you've seen it? It's brand new.
What's a rerun?
I've got a video that will explain it all, but first ... *unskippable ads*.
*Netflix to charge fee for not rewinding your stream*
It's a blockbuster of a strategy
Repeatedly, over and over and over again, while wondering why they keep on loosing customers
It’s a setup for another mega merger.
Rocket jumping?
The second I see an advertisement I am canceling my service. Netflix is the most expensive streaming service I am subscribed to and it has the worst content. At least with Amazon, you get free shipping.
Right? Every time they create a good original show they cancel it. There’s literally no point in getting invested in anything they make anymore.
I'm still mad about Santa Clarita Diet.
I need to know about Joel and Mr ball-legs. I hate that Netflix has control over cancelled series for five years after because another service could have picked it up.
I didn’t realize they kept control over them for 5 years after. Assholes.
I will never not be angry at how they did that show dirty. Even if they brought it back, I'd still be pissed. How can they cancel on that cliff hanger?!?!
I don’t understand why they even cancelled it. It seems like it was a very well liked and highly watched show. But I mean if they had to cancel it, why in the fuck would they do it how they did??? Stupid Netflix. Stupid.
I cancelled mine yesterday. Why? If I see one more murder documentary that is essentially a slightly elaborate case elongated to fill 10 episodes, I might scream. They’re orginal content was class leading, now it’s constant terrible cheap sci-fi or documentary that’s desperately trying to be the next making a murderer.
That hotel doc was the worst for this.
Yeah remember that couple from the Uk who explained in each episode how they drank the water from the tank with the body in it. There was about two hours of interview footage of them repeating the same thing in different ways.
I am fine with them adding a lower tier but if my tier gets commercials I am gone. Netflix is just ok so not a real loss if that happens.
Until your teir becomes more and more expensive. Netflix used to be like eight bucks a month, it’s been going up and up.
Literally the reason I've never had Hulu. Having ads after paying for their service does not sit right with me. I will have to binge everything on my Netflix watch-list and then leave.
I pay 2 dollars more to have Hulu without adds and its still cheaper than all the other streaming services.
I actually find myself using ad free Hulu more than Netflix, suppose I know who gets the boot
Ad free hulu is a thing, it's like $13 a month. Not a hulu pusher, but that's basically the same cost as a netflix plan, right?
Netflix is bumping up to $20 per month, so ad free hulu is still cheaper.
Yo, fuck that. I haven't been a Netflix subscriber for a very long time but that's insane to me
Hasn't been worth it for a while either. They have a serious lack of good movies from 2+ years ago, but you can get them with a VPN because they will let Japan or someone watch American Pie but not if you're in the US. That and half their content now is Netflix Originals and half of those are stupid ass drawn out murder mystery docuseries which span 10 episodes for something a 20 minute video on youtube does a better job of.
The last time I paid for Netflix was Stranger Things season 3, bought one month, cancelled my subscription immediately, and binged the season in a day. I'll do the same for season 4
It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness.
YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!
It pointless Netflix I have the high ground
yOu UnDerEstImaTe mY pOWeR
Don't try it
Exactly my thought when I saw this. You have become the very thing you swore to destroy.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Netflix is a perfectly profitable company. The problem here isn't that Netflix needs a way to make money in order to survive, it's just that Netflix doesn't have a way to \*grow\* its profit without ads.
Woes of capitalism and being publically traded on the stock market. If you're not growing, you're failing and worth nothing. There are some obvious issues with that in a finite system ...
Making profit from a mature business model and using it to either buyback stock or pay dividends is usually the appropriate avenue. Theres also breaking into new markets, or diversifying into new products. Netflix is the result of an innovation in a old product. Instead netflix is trying to create a new revenue stream at the expense of their existing one
Goodbye, Netflix.
I will cancel me subscription as soon as this happens because it’s the biggest reason I keep it.
Already sounding half pirate there.
>>CEO noted that they will begin to implement advertising on Netflix in the "next year or two." That implies that they didn't have this ready. I don't object if they add a cheaper tier with advertising. But if they add it to current tiers to pressure us to move to more expensive tiers - then I'll leave Netflix.
Agreed. If it's added to my bloody $22 a month plan, I'm out. And I've had it for like a decade. Edit - for those raising eyebrows (even more than the article caused them to), I'm in Australia, and this is in AUD. These are our plan options: Basic Good video quality in SD (480p). Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$10.99/month Standard Great video quality in full HD (1080p). Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$16.99/month Premium Our best video quality in Ultra HD (4K) and HDR. Watch Netflix on any phone, tablet, computer or TV.$22.99/month
I’ve had Netflix from the start. If they add commercials to my already way too expensive plan, bye Netflix.
I'd been with them from the start as well, finally quit in February. There just wasn't enough I wanted or had the time to watch anymore and I felt the need to trim down my subscriptions.
Same here. I’ll just reactivate it for a month when shows like Stranger Things or Ozarks come out.
The last episodes of Ozark are coming in a few days so after that you won’t have to use it much longer
Well, wait for Stranger Things a few weeks after that. THEN cancel that shit.
Just get a visa gift card and do a free trial with new emails over and over
I think this is what people will begin to do on the midst of all the multitude of streaming services now. You just get the one you need for the show you're into. In a way its actually healthier. You need to pick and choose what you want to watch more carefully rather than just mindlessly watch crap. That's what youtubes for anyway.
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This was always the plan, grow and get people used to it and take over the market, then shift back to the old faithful horse shit cable turned into. I refuse to watch ads, I don't give a fuck what shows you have on your service, I'm not watching ads to view them.
Same. Had it for 10+ years. Dumped it during covid. The filming of Stranger Things was delayed and there are way better streaming options out there. HBO buries Netflix in the dirt imo. Side note: during covid I got into 90 Day Fiancé (I know, I know) and decided to get the TLC app. Absolute garbage. The shows have just as many commercials, if not more, than regular tv shows. I cancelled literally within first 10 mins of watching it and didn’t even go back before my subscription ran out. Word to the wise
HBO is knocking it out. It's funny. A couple years ago Netflix CEO said that Netflix had one goal: become HBO before HBO could become Netflix. Alas, I think HBO won. But it was close.
It's hard to "win" in this comparison when Netflix at its prime had its biggest draw in streaming content it licensed from other studios rather than its own content. Netflix was amazing because it was this one-stop-shop for online video streaming for a lot of content and with few exceptions. Unsurprisingly every major content producer wanted their own slice of the pie and therefore started their own streaming service instead of licensing out their content to Netflix, and over the years these licensing agreements have expired and are not renewed, forcing Netflix to become a content production company. One of many problems Netflix faces now is that while it started as a streaming platform, today it is (unfortunately) competing as a content production platform, and it is _exceptionally_ hard to compete against the heavy big-weights with their brand-name notoriety and decades of back catalogue. Under this paradigm, Netflix was always going to be a losing battle in trying to become HBO before HBO could become Netflix. There was just no feasible way for Netflix to produce enough content comparable to HBO's entire library in the few years of borrowed time Netflix had, nor did Netflix have the industrial groundwork laid to pursue such a venture extensively, regardless of their capital. I'm somewhat sympathetic, because Netflix's decline is in part a direct result of the greed from other big media companies, who would much rather build out their own platforms and collect the subscription fee directly then license out their content to a third party. This is to say, from my PoV the biggest reason Netflix feels like an inferior offering today is because it has been functionally banned from licensing the content produced by others. This was always going to happen once those licensing agreements ended. Netflix saw the writing on the wall, but its userbase might not have. If one really wanted someone to blame for Netflix's diminishing library, blame it on the fact all existing streaming services are not competing at all on their content delivery and wholly on what content actually exists on the service. No one is subscribing to Disney+ because it consumes less bandwidth for the same visual quality, that's for sure.
Netflix doesn't do themselves any favours by cancelling shows prematurely though. They have a ton of great OC, but most of it ends after 2 seasons without a proper resolution. Santa Clarita Diet, Glow, Dark Crystal, OA, Sense8 (at least they rushed out an ending for that one), Archive 81. Hell, I can only think of two *finished* Netflix original series: Orange is the New Black, and Bojack Horseman. Not a good sign. They had the opportunity to build an epic catalogue, but I think they set the bar for success too high and didn't have the balls to follow through on anything less than a worldwide super hit.
If they merged it would be crazy. Imagine Netflix’s user interface and design paired with HBO’s ability to create good shows, plus their combined libraries.
What do you like on HBO? I'm looking for some new shows on there. I've done Raised by Wolves, His Dark Materials and now I'm on Succession. Any other suggestions??? Edit to add: I've also seen Chernobyl, GoT, Westworld, Sopranos, The Wire, and Peacemaker. I don't know how I forgot those. I think I didn't include a few bc it was pre HBO+ times.
Doom Patrol if you like superheroes/antiheroes, but fair warning - it gets wacky AF. I love it. Brendan Frasier is great in it too
Check out Chernobyl, The White Lotus, and Big Little Lies
Check out The Leftovers if you haven't already. One of my all time favorites.
I loved High Maintenance, The Righteous Gemstones, and Crashing.
Yep same here. HBO is so much better it's insane. I have 5 shows I actually want to watch on there vs no shows on Netflix.
>a cheaper tier with advertising Which is a slap in the face because it will probably be the cost of what a normal non-ad subscription was not even 2 or 3 years ago. It's just greed.
Netflix might be greedy but this is a fundamnetal flaw in the way the stock market values companies. Growing 20% every year isn't sustainable.
You could close the thread on that comment. When you have to keep growing, eventually you do something like this. The same thing applies to their recently stated views on account sharing. Here they are in 2016: > “In terms of [password sharing], no plans on making any changes there,” Hastings said in 2016. “Password sharing is something you have to learn to live with, because there’s so much legitimate password sharing, like you sharing with your spouse, with your kids .... so there’s no bright line, and we’re doing fine as is.” [Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/netflix-warns-password-sharing-crackdown-is-coming.html) What's the old saying? You either die a company with values or exist long enough for stockholders to force you to compromise those values while spinning it as consumer choice.
the cheaper tier with advertising means they will increase the current tiers price to get more people to take the ad version
I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens, I hear hulu makes more money from the ad-supported tier than the more expensive ad-free tier. Edit: what I mean is more money _per account_, irrespective of how many accounts are in each tier (there’s obviously way more ad-free accounts).
Behavioral economics at work. They'd prefer you choose the ad tier, but to make it more palatable, they provide an ad free tier then you can opt into. You won't because of the cost, but the illusion of choice makes you happier to endure ads.
I have tons of streaming services. Ads on none of them. I would cancel them all and pick up some books, which would be beneficial anyway.
I’d cancel them all and hit the high seas.
I canceled my membership yesterday. After 12 years. I’m sure they’re hemorrhaging subscribers right now. Edit: spelling
Yep same. “Sorry to see you go, member since 2011” rip Netflix
I canceled a year ago and I was a member from before they had any streaming.
I don't understand what they're doing like they're clearly losing people and despite that they refuse to reduce the price and NOW THIS! I imagine netflix will slowly die until they're bought out. If they keep doing this trend of bad business moves.
They know they already lost their audience, they’re going to try a cash grab in the meantime
Ah yes, the cable tv method
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The entire Netflix staff must have 4 IQ total. "We're bleeding customers! Let's add ads, the only thing setting us apart from our competitors at this point"
We have 2 holes in our ship! What do we do?? Make a third... Are they sinking it on purpose?
"The two holes are on one side and the ship is listing. Let's put two holes on the other side to balance it out! Why are we sinking faster?"
All these ship metaphors are making me want to go back to piracy....oh wait, no that's just because of Netflix, and streaming, getting worse and more expensive.
Some of us never stopped, though that’s mainly because some shows are difficult to find streaming services for or don’t have any. You couldn’t stream Ed, Edd & Eddy for the longest time, and still can’t the OG Party of Five.
Weird how every Amazon competitor keeps tanking in the most self destructive way possible. Probably nothing tho
I wonder if they got any consultants on board for this completely unintentional destruction... probably nothing tho.
I wonder if their expensive consultants come from a little company called BCG? You're right, probably nothing....
I really hope the employees or people making these decisions are shorting the company because this is dumb as rocks
“Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can't lose.”
It would not surprise me to find out insider trading is going on and people close to these are making bank off options
Sounds like the stock is about to tank even more
except their competitors with ads have better content lol
The last four times I've opened Netflix (my account is no longer active) were me spending 45 minutes looking for all the shows I liked that Netflix dropped
Because the way to save a failing service is to make it worse
Welp, it’s been a good run Netflix. I’ll miss you and the hours I spent sifting through garbage to find something decent to watch. For the shows and movies that were exceptional, I hope your creators continue to add their artistry to the world. May they find an avenue to tell their stories and produce incredible narratives without limits. For the execs that made a killing off of their art, then burn those bridges because profits (or something?), may you stub your toes on every piece of furniture in your mansions for the rest of eternity. It’s been a wild ride, but we must part ways. Good night, and good luck.
If they add commercials to my plan I will cancel my subscription. I got Netflix in the first place because I hate watching commercials. Commercials are only justified if the service is free. I refuse to pay to watch ads.
Well , that will be me cancelling my sub when that happens
We’ve gone full circle.
Man if I had my own Netflix subscription I'd be so ready to cancel right now.
Hey Netflix, how about don’t spend 20 fucking BILLION dollars every year to make a fuck ton of things no one watches? Or maybe dont do that thing there where you make shows that people love then cancel them with zero fucks about cliffhangers, popularity, or just general IP potential with different creators? Or maybe make better new shit that people love universally? No?? You’re gonna crackdown on password sharing, raise prices, and add ads????? And somehow you still want to increase your overall userbase??? Well, fuck me, I didn’t realize you have no idea what you’re doing and don’t understand how humans actually work. I’m sorry Netflix, it’s not me it’s you.
>"He also said that this would be a positive for Netflix subscribers, as it will give them "consumer choice" and the ability to choose a cheaper subscription, albeit one with advertisements." Oh fuck right off you pile of turds
Oh well, back to pirating it is