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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?
International will be as comprehensive as US content withers away...
The real explanation is simple, Netflix was not taken very seriously as a potential channel to displace traditional revenue channels (was seen as free money for little threat), and as Netflix proved it would displace the usual revenue channels, the content holders began being far more demanding as renewal time came around.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
It really has nothing to do with international rights. Cost may be a factor, but it isn't the most important right now. They can license whatever the studios will sell them.
The studios aren't selling.
The reason is that they figure they've got the killer show that is enough to get them to install the service for just that studio's output. HBO and Starz are already exclusives (with HBO recently revoking Netflix's license with Sesame Street), Disney's working on theirs, CBS has forked off their own instead of signing on to Hulu with the other networks.
At $15/m, they figure they've got the one killer show that is enough to get that monthly subscription, and they're gambling they're right by taking their material off of Netflix.
In the end, "cutting the chord" is not going to save anybody any money, because instead of paying cable $99+ / month for shows and HBO, they're going to have to sign on to 7 services to get the same shows they want to watch, resulting in the same $99/month.
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
The distributors of the film licenses have realized that streaming is pretty much their entire market these days. So they've learned that they should be asking for more money from them in order to stay afloat. Depending on the license agreement, Netflix will either pay a negotiated flat-rate to have unlimited streaming rights, a fee per view, or a combination of the two. But it's very rarely going to just be a fee per view. So when Netflix' license to a movie ends, they have to think long and hard before deciding to relicense it, if they are given the opportunity at all. Now that there's competition from Amazon, Hulu, and Google Play, the licensing company may very well have already promised the next time chunk to someone else.
Maybe (sounds a bit crazy I know so ignore me if I'm talking shit) the submitter should quickly read the summary once before posting..?
Or maybe the editor should do it before posting the story to the front page?
Just kidding! That would buck almost twenty years of Slashdot precedent.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
I still pay for DVD subscription for anything that isn't streaming. And they are shrinking their deep catalog fast. My queue has almost as many unavailable titles as available titles now. They are dumping used discs at Dollar General or Big Lots fast.
It used to be that just about anything you could think of was available on disc, and then there was streaming with the more limited catalog. Now, DVD is less and less worth paying for. I am turning to buying a copy of a movie rather than having any way to rent for the more obscure titles.
That would only serve to cause a loud portion of the internet to deride TPB as a "sellout", pick up their ball and go somewhere else they don't have to pay for it.
Perhaps true. But as a long time user of TPB for content I cannot find on Netflix/Hulu/etc, I'd happily pay for a legitimate version...they could even call it "The WarnerSonyEveryOtherFilmCompany Bay" for all I care.
Just put all the content in one place, and make it easy for me to watch it whenever I want on whatever platform I happen to have in front of me at the moment, and I'll be happy to pay a reasonable fee.
It's pretty clear that Netflix's vision in the long run is to essentially become a television network on its own. I expect that while the actual number of titles will fall, the number of first run series will rise.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
It's pretty clear that Netflix's vision in the long run is to essentially become a television network on its own. I expect that while the actual number of titles will fall, the number of first run series will rise.
I think that became the case when Netflix realized that they are completely at the mercy of the content holders and that they would eventually be displaced by the content holders themselves some day.
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...
The only counterpoint I have to that is that judging by the way content holders have rolled out streaming thus far, that day is far off.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
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.