Trouble for Tivo and NetFlix Partnership?

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Trouble for Tivo and NetFlix Partnership?

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday September 9, 2004 @08:50AM from the to-good-to-be-true dept.

lucabrasi999 writes "Well, things may not not be as good for the potential joining up of Netflix and Tivo as once thought. Herb Greenberg, of CBS Marketwatch has a commentary which hints that this deal may not be as great as it once appeared. Why? In short, distribution rights. It appears that Netflix may not legally distribute all of the movies in it's library via Tivo. As a side note, Netflix may also be feeling some economic pressure. It now forces all cancellations occur by phone, making it more difficult to cancel because of a long hold time."

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Cancelation times by Therlin · 2004-09-09 08:51 · Score: 3, Informative

When I called to cancel one of my units about two weeks ago, my hold time was approximately 4 minutes. That is not unreasonable.
1. Re:Cancelation times by AKAImBatman · 2004-09-09 08:52 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It's not Tivo that has the long hold times. It's NetFlix. From the summary:
  
  Netflix may also be feeling some economic pressure.
  
  Just an FYI.
  
  --
  Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
2. Re:Cancelation times by quitcherbitchen · 2004-09-09 09:03 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  NetFlix doesn't require you to phone in cancellations. I cancelled my membership yesterday with just a few clicks. I've never been a member of another subscription service (especially one with a free trial) that made it this easy.
  
  You don't even have to have all of your movies in befor you cancel. Just return within 7 days. I highly recommend NetFlix to anyone willing to pay $23 per month for movies.
Uniform Consumer Code by stecoop · 2004-09-09 08:52 · Score: 5, Informative

Netflix now forces all cancellations occur by phone

Could some inspiring Business Major retort the Uniform Consumer Rights for us? Off the top of my head, which will not be a good verbatim translation, it states that:

A cancellation of an order must be accepted as in the method original ordered in or in a manner that is faster in speed. Meaning that if signed up electronically than they have to accept an electronic cancellation or any means that would be faster. Like if I signed up via mail than if they have a means of electronic cancellation than they have to accept that too all the while accepting the mail as a cancellation method.
1. Re:Uniform Consumer Code by AKAImBatman · 2004-09-09 08:56 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Do you mean the Uniform Commercial Code?
  
  --
  Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
2. Re:Uniform Consumer Code by jbs0902 · 2004-09-09 09:43 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I didn't bother to look up the specific line the statute you're talking about but, ...
  
  The UCC is the baseline or "gap filler" for commercial contracts. It is what you get if you don't specify anything else. So, you can opt-out of the UCC's provisions anytime you want.
  
  I'd assume the Netflix contract opts you out of whatever part of the UCC they don't like. I also assume Netflix sets the contract in the jurisdiction it likes the most.
Cancellation by ckswift · 2004-09-09 08:56 · Score: 5, Informative

It now forces all cancellations occur by phone, making it more difficult to cancel because of a long hold time."

As a Netflix subscriber, I have a "Cancel Your Membership" button on my account page...

-Chris
1. Re:Cancellation by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-09 09:03 · Score: 1, Informative
  
  I saw a story about this on K5 a while back. Basically the discount offered depended on a bit of randomness, how long you were a customer, how many movies you ordered, etc. Not everyone was offered a discount, while some people got big ones.
Re:Other Services by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-09 08:58 · Score: 1, Informative

Netflix is okay, and their list of movies is incredibly deep. But I quit cause I was constantly fussing at myself to watch the DVD and get it in the mail so I could get another. I found I was *forcing* myself to watch stuff, which took a lot of the joy out of it. So if you don't watch movies at least every other night you are better off wandering in to your local Blockbuster when the mood strikes ... price ends up being about the same.
Re:Other Services by vondo · 2004-09-09 09:00 · Score: 5, Informative

I was with Netflix for three years. When they changed my old, sweetheart deal ($28/six movies/month) to $35/five movies and Blockbuster came on the scene, I jumped ship. But, I just signed up for BB yesterday, so no real experience yet. So far, I can say the web site is not quite as slick, generally (not that Netflix was especially good) and the selection isn't quite as good either. (They are missing Futurama seaons 1&2 for some reason).
With being gone for a while and a two week BB test period, I figured I can't lose. Also, I like the idea of two in-store coupons/month from BB. (It was always the selection that kept me with Netflix, not the pain of a local store.)
Re:The end of Netflix is upon us by The_Rippa · 2004-09-09 09:07 · Score: 4, Informative

Not true...

1. Netflix is actually a few bucks cheaper than Blockbuster and Blockbuster certainly doesn't have the same inventory.

2. WalMart won't have the same selection either.

3. Hasn't postage always been free?

4. This is true.
Netflix cancellations by phone by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-09 09:10 · Score: 5, Informative

The cancel-by-phone only rule must be pretty new, because I cancelled my Netflix subscription *yesterday* (9/8) using the web interface. Took all of two clicks.
Mod parent +1 RTFNetflixpage by PCM2 · 2004-09-09 09:11 · Score: 4, Informative

He's right. You click on the "Your Account" link, which takes you to a page that lists your current rental status and tells you your current package, i.e. "Three At a Time Plan." Next to that are two links, one that says "Change" and another that says "Cancel." If you click "Cancel," the first bulletpoint on the next page reads, "Cancellation will be effective immediately." All you need to do is check the "I understand and agree" box and submit the form. Who told you that you needed to call by phone?

--
Breakfast served all day!
1. Re:Mod parent +1 RTFNetflixpage by Mike+Hawk · 2004-09-09 10:00 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Yet you were more than willing to fan the flames without actually checking the facts for yourself. Such is the way of the internet I suppose. Rather than placing blame, you should apologize and the article should be amended.
Re:The end of Netflix is upon us by Jinsaku · 2004-09-09 09:11 · Score: 2, Informative

> BB has a larger library plus their instore stock.

As a person who has used both Netflix's and BB's unlimited rental stuff, I have to disagree with this. My local BB is pretty big, and boasts about 3,000 different titles. Whereas Netflix has something along the lines of 25,000 diff titles.. couple that with the fact that when you rent with BB, you can only use that one BB store, whereas if your current Netflix doesn't have that glamourous BOllywood flick you desire to see so much (that BB doesn't even know exists), they can add a day or so to shipping and get it from another warehouse.

I have converted to BB now, solely because I've now seen the back 10 years of stuff I've always wanted to see, and only get new releases now. Netflix is awesome for obscure/older stuff, whereas BB is more convenient for the brand new or recent big flicks.

--
-- Jinsaku
Cancel by phone? by beaverbrother · 2004-09-09 09:12 · Score: 2, Informative

I was able to cancel netflix online just two days ago.
Read the fine print by eberry · 2004-09-09 09:16 · Score: 3, Informative

I can't find it now, but Walmart's site specifically stated that you would be charged for any DVDs lost in the mail. Where as Netflix absorbs that cost.

And as for Netflix, you can still cancel and restart your membership online.

--
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Lois, this isn't my Batman glass. - Peter
Re:The end of Netflix is upon us by vondo · 2004-09-09 09:19 · Score: 2, Informative

1. Netflix is actually a few bucks cheaper than Blockbuster and Blockbuster certainly doesn't have the same inventory.
How's that? Netflix for the 3/month plan is $23, BB is $20. For my previous plan (5/mo.), NF was $35, I think, BB would be $30. But, with the 2 coupons/month at the local store, I'm actually shifting from Netflix's 5/mo. plan to the BB 3/mo. plan.
Re:The end of Netflix is upon us by fnord123 · 2004-09-09 09:29 · Score: 3, Informative

I tried Blockbuster and Walmart over the last couple months and have had Netflix for over a year.
Netflix has a closer warehouse to me, and more warehouses overall - this usually resulted in my getting a new movie every 3 days vs 5 for BB and 6 for Walmart. Advantage: Netflix
When Netflix received a DVD (and sent me an email), they would send me a new one on the same day, every time. When Blockbuster and Walmart received a DVD (and sent me an email), they often would take another full day before sending out the next one. Walmart was the worse of the three. Advantege: Netflix
The Netflix website is more user friendly imho. I don't have to login everytime ("save my act info" didn't work correctly on BB or Walmart with Firebird at least). In Netflix when I renumber a couple of movies at the end of my queue to 1 and 2, they show up as 1 and 2. In BB, they would show up as 1 and 3 (because the "new" 1 displaced the "old" 1 to 2, and the new "2" was relative to the the old "2" I guess). Netflix search functions where better as well. Advantge: Netflix.
Netflix has a much broader library than either of the others. Lots of movies only found in Netflix. Advantage: Netflix
Netflix has a much deeper library than either of the others. Lots of movies on my BB and Walmart list showed up as "long wait" etc. The same movies on Netflix where "available". Advantage: Netflix.
Summary: I cancelled BB and WalMart and stuck with Netflix. The other two are also-rans at best.
Re:Movielink.com by Tazzy531 · 2004-09-09 09:46 · Score: 2, Informative

From the About Us Page:
Movielink (www.movielink.com) is the leading broadband movie download service offering U.S. customers an extensive selection of new and classic hit movies, foreign films and other hard-to-find content. The service is owned and operated by Movielink, LLC, a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios. Movielink draws its content offerings from the vast libraries of those studios as well as Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax, Artisan and others on a non-exclusive basis.
They have permission to do so because they own the copyright for it whereas you don't and cannot sell something that you don't own [legally]

--

_______________________________
"I'm not Conceited...I'm just a realist..."
why rent when you can buy by thinwater · 2004-09-09 10:04 · Score: 2, Informative

I never understood the "netflix" philosophy. With Walmart and Hastings offering used DVD's for $5-10 and Djangos offering used DVD's online with a HUGE selection, why would anyone pay $20+ a month to "borrow" movies. Just buy them and be done with it. It's as cheap as renting, and you build up a DVD library that you actually OWN.
1. Re:why rent when you can buy by Anita+Coney · 2004-09-09 10:26 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Let's see. Sign up for Netflix's 40 dollars a month service. It allows you to have 8 DVDs at a time. On average you can get about 10 DVDs a week. That's 520 a year for only 92 cents per CD.
  
  Buy DVDFab for $40.
  
  Get some cheap blank DVDs from Newegg, currently about 42 cents a disc.
  
  About half of the movies can be copied without compression onto one disc. But even assuming you want all the bonus materials and use 2 discs for each movie. Your grand total comes to $1.86 per movie.
  
  So to answer your question as to why use Netflix, you can get all the movies you want for less than 2 bucks each.
  
  --
  If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
Re:Netflix is getting slow... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-09 10:23 · Score: 1, Informative

Funny you should mention that. I had a similar experience.
Got the email about 2 months ago asking how their postal delivery is doing, and I told them it was great, even beating their own expectations. Since then it seems that every shipped disc takes an extra day to arrive.
I thought this seemed like a sinister interpretation of events, but now I see I'm not the only one.
I'm still a Netflix fan but I'd like sure to re-answer that e-mail...
Re:Netflix is getting slow... by koreth · 2004-09-09 10:28 · Score: 3, Informative

Not my experience. I've been a Netflix subscriber since 1999 and, aside from the fact that they removed the "I've sent this movie back, send me the next one now" button, I haven't seen their turnaround time getting any better or worse over the last five years. If I put a movie in my mailbox on Monday morning, I nearly always have the next one in hand on Thursday or Friday.
Reality check by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-09 10:43 · Score: 4, Informative

1. When Netflix receives a disc, more often than not they ship the next disc the same day. Look at your queue page or read your e-mail. The date they sent the disc is right there. You can compare the date you got it with that date and know that that was the post office transit time. On occasion, they fill your order by shipping you a disc from another hub. When that happens, it takes an extra day, plus whatever extra time the postal service takes. They do this to shift inventory to match a demand shift. When it happens, your queue page keeps you informed.

2. You can still cancel online. Any suggestions that you can't are nonsense.

3. Negotiating rights will be part of any electronic distribution venture, regardless of what companies are involved. Everybody in the business knows this. Nobody would be proceeding with any ventures of this sort if they didn't have a plan for it.

4. Your answer to a delivery survey does not affect your account in any way. Others have speculated that the rate at which you turn discs around has an effect, but see #1 above. They ask about delivery time so they can figure out when and where they need to open a new shipping hub.
Re:Bummer for Netflix... by angrykeyboarder · 2004-09-09 10:52 · Score: 2, Informative

Nope. It's 81% owned by another media conglomerate.: Viacom

--
Scott

©20014 angrykeyboarder & Elmer Fudd. All Wights Wesewved
Re:AOL is the same way by Hillman · 2004-09-09 11:48 · Score: 2, Informative

I work in a call center(student job!) and we have to ask why the customer wants to cancel and offer two things before proceeding with the desactivation. I know it sucks and I hate doing it but please remain polite we're human too...
Thank god, I'm not there for very long...
from the article's author by proj_2501 · 2004-09-09 12:04 · Score: 2, Informative

I emailed him about this and received in reply:

Good catch. They changed it back since last week. Too bad the company won't
take my calls! Wonder why they changed it back! Tell me that. Herb