The Netflix Thread

[Spun Lepton]

And movie studios just continue to make stupid, stupid decisions. It's almost comical.

It really is! It's astonishing how oblivious some of these decision-makers can be when it comes to understanding the simplest human behaviors.

[Raiders]

Last I heard, HBO is planning their own competing streaming service, which is probably why they pulled support from Netflix.

www.hbogo.com

[number8]

What baffles me is that these things aren't decided lightly. I mean, it's Warner Bros. They have people whose job it is to chart the pros and cons of decisions like this, and the standard procedure is to hire third party research firms to market test consumer behavior to see if they would do the things the studios think they would do. And this is the result.

Either studios continually make decisions against their findings or there really are a big chunk of consumers out there (who aren't internet-savvy like us) who do follow this pattern and play into the studios' hands.

Either scenario doesn't sound that far-fetched, actually.

[number8]

Last I heard, HBO is planning their own competing streaming service, which is probably why they pulled support from Netflix.

HBO Go has been available for like 2 years, dude.

[Dukefrukem]

I refuse to give any more money to Comcast than I already do.

I die a little inside but what are my other options?? I refuse to watch cammed videos and it's coming up on Oscar time.

[Robby P]

Either studios continually make decisions against their findings or there really are a big chunk of consumers out there (who aren't internet-savvy like us) who do follow this pattern and play into the studios' hands.

What percentage of the general movie going population do you think even knows what a torrent file is? Beyond the 18-26 demographic, anyways.

[D_Davis]

I die a little inside but what are my other options?? I refuse to watch cammed videos and it's coming up on Oscar time.

Just wait until they are available elsewhere. I guess I just don't care about seeing things right away or at any certain time, especially not because of the Oscars or anything like that.

[number8]

Wait, I think I get the logic now. We're thinking about it backwards.

They're not targeting blind buyers. They probably know that people who only want to watch the movie are not going to suddenly buy the thing because they can't rent it.

I think it's a strategy to exploit the impatience of people who already liked the movie in theaters and are already considering owning the movie. A lot of these people tend to curb their enthusiasm after discovering that they can just rent the movie again and again instead of buying it. Without the option, when they're in Target or whatever and they see that movie on the New Release section, they'd be more likely to think, "Well, I can just wait 2 months to see if it might show up on Netflix, but what the hell, I liked it, didn't I? Might as well buy it."

[D_Davis]

But aren't DVD and BR sales way down? Almost all of my film-buff friends who used to buy a ton of movies have basically stopped buying movies altogether.

[Dukefrukem]

Just wait until they are available elsewhere. I guess I just don't care about seeing things right away or at any certain time, especially not because of the Oscars or anything like that.

Meh. I enjoy the Oscars enough to want to watch as many nominated films as I can. It's like picking winners in the playoffs, like we're all doing in the NFL thread.

But 8's right. WB's biggest movie of the decade all time is being released in 6 months and they know people will want to see it after it leaves theaters. So they'll cash in on the impatient f@@ks like me, while reaping in the normal rental fees when it finally hits from the people who didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters.

[Spun Lepton]

HBO Go has been available for like 2 years, dude.

Is it available on the PS3??

[number8]

Is it available on the PS3??

They keep saying it's coming, but not yet. So far it's only browsers, Android, iPhone, iPad and Roku box.

[Irish]

It really is! It's astonishing how oblivious some of these decision-makers can be when it comes to understanding the simplest human behaviors.

I think they get the behavior but they're sorta stuck.

The ideal would be to make money off every channel while allowing no one channel to get significant leverage in the marketplace. Part of that means continuing to sell to Netflix & Blockbuster while subtly undercutting their business at the same time.

It's interesting to me that Apple and Amazon aren't part of this deal, and I assume that they'll continue to sell & rent downloads without these restrictions.

More interesting is that these announcements are coming into play as the studios are trying to get their own streaming service off the ground.

[Spun Lepton]

They keep saying it's coming, but not yet. So far it's only browsers, Android, iPhone, iPad and Roku box.

I must've heard that news and in my head it eventually morphed into, "HBO has a streaming service coming soon."

[Lazlo]

I must've heard that news and in my head it eventually morphed into, "HBO has a streaming service coming soon."

The issue is that it doesn't compare directly to Netflix of Hulu Plus or Amazon since you still have to have cable/satellite and a subscription to HBO. It comes with the subscription (if your cable company has an agreement with HBO), which is nice, but it doesn't put you in a position to eliminate cable. I suppose at some point they'll make it available on its own, but not yet. And us Time Warner folks are still waiting on it to come online.

[number8]

Confession: I don't have cable and use someone else's login to watch HBO Go. Eep.

[ledfloyd]

Confession: I don't have cable and use someone else's login to watch HBO Go. Eep.

you can do this? *investigates*

[EyesWideOpen]

Never Say Never is on instant watch now. I know you guys have been waiting to see it before choosing your best documentary on the Match Cut Awards.

[EyesWideOpen]

Film Socialisme added today.

[Spinal]

The Names of Love is now available.

[Adam]

Tuesday, After Christmas got added recently. It's really good!

[B-side]

Nice to see you back, Adam.

[Rowland]

Kôji Wakamatsu's United Red Army and Caterpillar, both 2011 US theatrical releases, are now available. I've seen the latter, and while it was ultimately a mild nay from me, I can see some around here really digging it; at the very least, I'm still seriously considering lead actress Shinobu Terajima for a MC award nomination.

Also, I'm not sure whether or not it was just recently added, but Christopher Smith's Black Death, one of last year's best genre films, is up, which I recall DaMu and Grouchy really liking as well as myself obviously.

[Spinal]

Good tip. Been meaning to watch more Wakamatsu.

[Dukefrukem]

Netflix ditching video game rental idea