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DirecTV Plans Netflix Competitor
jfruhlinger writes "DirecTV isn't sitting still in the long-simmering war between traditional TV providers and digital streaming services. A survey the satellite network sent to customers this week indicates that it may be planning a streaming service of its own."
Well, the market for video media is changing. If they didn't do this or come up with something that raised the competitive bar dramatically, they would just be left in the dust. Whether this is a good or bad thing is another matter. It could cause Netflix to expand its selection - which it really needs to do, it's way to small even at this point - or it may just as easily cut the market for this kind of thing into smaller sections - for example, Netflix having a monopoly over Disney movies or something of the sort.
I'm stuck with Wildblue as my ISP and seeing that I can barely stream anything from Hulu or Netflix without having to pause the show every 3 minutes or so to buffer I doubt that having another dish and paying another $70 a month for DirecTV is going make much of a difference.
Please bring real broadband to us poor rural folk! I like the 20minute drive to my mailbox (not that there is anything in it...) but I do not like the 8-16kB/s connection with random bursts up to 60kB/s.
It's not just streaming; a reliable mail service that allows me to watch many of the movies I enjoy is worth the monthly fee.
The main difference of netflix and DirecTV is that DirecTV might as well use your ISPs internet for upload only. They already have an entire satellite system, and I wouldn't be surprised if they used that to stream their movies to a receiver, instead of using crowded ISP pipes, bypassing ISPs stupid caps. If that indeed happens, it will be definitely a game changer.
How about charging $1 for PPV movies instead of $4-6. There you go. Now ya don't have to waste a bunch of money on a service that is going to fail.
DirecTV has something in their favor over Netflix: a set of pipes. Satellite internet is AFAIK still expensive and inherently very high latency (Counterstrike players, day traders, and VoIP users need not apply; you'll never see a two-digit ping), but it's an option that would be especially lucrative in rural areas where dial-up or wireless tethering are the only options. They've already got the backhaul circling the globe, so it's really a matter of whether they can match Comcast/Time Warner/Cablevision + Netflix subscription at the price point. On top of that, they've already got enough pull in Hollywood for their garden variety broadcast licensing. It'd be separate of course, but they've got the precedent. If they can ensure that the service can scale while keeping the prices competitive with the other guys without having to deal with the bandwidth caps, then they could actually be a serious threat to the present system for large groups of people.
The problem, as I see it, is that they will include this service as an add on rather than an "instead of" service. I dropped DirecTV this past week because for $110 less a month I can get every show I watch on netflix, hulu plus and TED.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
ohh I like Mad-Libs
_________ is planning Netflix Competitor
The problem, as I see it, is that they will include this service as an add on rather than an "instead of" service.
I think the limiting factor here is just that, that DirecTV is developing this product as an addition to their standard satellite package, rather than as a unique product, and as such are reducing the pool of potential viewers to only their current client base. Netflix is alternate entertainment provider agnostic and given the way DirecTV nickels and dimes you on EVERYTHING, somehow I doubt this will be cheaper than Netflix's offering.
Good luck DTV...
I dropped DirecTV this past week because for $110 less a month I can get every show I watch on netflix, hulu plus and TED.
I wish I was in your position. I need my football and hockey, and I want them in real HD at this point to appreciate them. I so want this DirecTV box out of my house, but as I live in a broadcast TV "white zone" which means I don't get any reception AT ALL, I am shackled to DTV, Dish or god forbid, Comcast if I want to watch the NHL and NFL.
Ocean is land, covered with water.
1) It will be wildly overpriced relative to its rivals 2) It will be slower and attached as an add-on to already crappy HDD based DVR's that are slow, buggy, and break constantly yet I have to pay to fix/replace them 3) There will be a bandwidth and viewer cap per show, 4) It will have commercials added in while I browse to subsidize revenue 5) The content will be ancient and I won't actually want to see it 6) They will adapt an iTunes/Pay-Per-View model on content that is free on other providers instead of an all-you-can-stream model, PLUS they will play the cutsie auto-delete game on content I paid for after a certain time, a-la Pay-Per-View. 7) It will be a raving pain in the ass to find anything as the remote will most certainly lack a qwerty input because YOU ARE CHEAP 8) Half of the content will be Programming in A Foreign language, Dogmatic religion channels, and there will be a curious absence of indy, YouTube and non-commercial studio content. 9) I will be restricted on the number of episodes I can 'save' or view at one time. 10) I'm more likely to get a high Def video faster from a torrent source than I am a directTV service 11) You will force me to purchase crap channels/content/HD services I don't want to access this service 12) The content that is available won't be the complete catalog of a series. I will be the last 5 episodes plus ancient episodes a la Hulu. 13) You will disable fast-forward through commercials in downloaded content to boost your revenue streams. DirectTV: I'd rather have a pineapple forcibly shoved up my ass and spun around at 4000 RPM's than have your filth clogging the one last refuge of free speech and innovation in the world. Your installation franchisees are awful. Your internet service sucks. You hold content providers hostage. Your DVR's are crap. I really hope Netflix comes and knocks you on your ass...
They will do like any other business, use the service to try and protect their core business. You think they will settle for selling a service that earns around $10 per month and destroy their own business that earns around $70 per month? Me thinks not.
You know how competition works, right? If there are multiple competitors with roughly similar products the cost drops as the compete against each other for customers. It usually pushes the prices to somewhere near the marginal cost for each unit (depending on the barriers to entry and such). Competition in any market is usually seen as a good thing because of that fact.