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Netflix's US Catalog Has Shrunk by More Than 2,500 Titles in Less Than 2.5 Years
According to a report on AllFlicks, a website that lists and categorizes Netflix content, the streaming service's library for American subscribers has shrunk by a third since 2014. The report claims that in March 2014, the US Netflix library consisted of about 6,500 movies and 1,600 television shows. As of this month, the same library offers 4,330 movies and 1,200 TV shows. An article on Quartz explains the shrinkage: The reason is that securing international streaming rights to shows and movies is exceedingly difficult -- laws and regulations differ by country, as does the type of content that people around the world consume. Netflix hopes that its library in other countries will eventually rival its comprehensive selection in the US.
Although the summary is simply quotes from the article, the way they presented them makes it nonsensical. (The US Netflix library is shrinking because it's hard to secure international streaming rights?) The actual article at least has a couple real reasons -- competition from Hulu and getting rid of obscure titles.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
Precisely. I remember a couple of years ago Starz demanded extortionate fees during contract renewal negotiations and Netflix declined (citation). A huge swathe of A-list movies and TV shows disappeared from streaming as a result. It's clear that the content providers want to provide exclusive access to their catalogues solely through their own fragmented, stove-piped streaming services.
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
Netflix is NOT the cause of this -- it is the greedy asshole content providers. Have a NetFlix (streaming) subscription but travel to Canada or over seas and want to watch Netflix? Tough shit -- you are forced to use a proxy / VPN workaround due to retarded licensing contracts. The content providers don't have a fucking clue that some people want to watch anything anywhere and that we're willing to pay for it. They want to nickel and dime every region independently to maximize profits.
The actual reason Netflix's catalog is so sparse -- where the fuck is Seinfeld? Big Bang Theory? -- is because licensing costs go up about 10% every few years. Sadly, Netflix just doesn't the capital nor critical mass that the cable industry has. :-/
Here is a list of Movies not on Netflix
People think "cutting the cord" is a solution. That doesn't effect the content providers AT ALL. The cable companies are big enough that a few lost customers aren't going to make a difference. The cable industry is so OVER saturated that the terminology is "churn". Cable box penetration has remained consistent for the past ~10 years.
It is a similar reason Netflix basically ignores its deaf subscribers and screws up the subtitles. The solution would be crowd source the whole dam thing but you can thank the lawyers for fucking that over.
* http://theweek.com/articles/45...
One major contributor to the shrinkage was the BBC, who yanked a lot of stuff recently. Forget Dr. Who. He's gone, both old and new.