General Entertainment Update: Netflix begins "right-sizing" its workforce (i.e., layoffs)

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Netflix subscribers fall for first time in a decade, shares plunge 23%

WWW.REUTERS.COM

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Global streaming giant Netflix Inc on Tuesday reported losing subscribers for the first time in more than a decade and predicted more contraction in the second quarter, a rare miss for...

 

Maybe give us an incentive to hang around by not canceling shows after one season?

[johnny]

they need more quality shows and movies

 

they release a ton of mediocre to bad movies and a bunch of shows that most wont watch. 

 

Apple TV has a wayyy higher hit rate for their shows. They don't have that many movies yet but CODA just won best damn picture. 

[Ghost_MH]

10 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Maybe give us an incentive to hang around by not canceling shows after one season?

 

This right here. Why am I going to watch any TV series of theirs if I know there's a great chance it'll be randomly cancelled with no good resolution? Maybe not even after one season, but it's not any better to see a show cancelled randomly after two or three seasons if it's ending on an unsatisfactory note because nobody involved was aware of what the algorithm was going to say? Netflix for me right now is only children's programming, anime, and the odd full length movie. If I didn't have kids, the anime wouldn't be enough to keep me around.

[Bacon]

27 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Maybe give us an incentive to hang around by not canceling shows after one season?

Wouldn't be so bad if their Season 1's didn't end with sequel bait. 

[GeneticBlueprint]

My favorite shows they've ever done--Mindhunter and Stranger Things--go literal years between releases while all the mediocre and terrible things seem to get like three seasons per year.

 

And I like plenty of their other shows too. But when they drop all episodes at once people can just pay for one month and binge. Which is exactly what I would do if I weren't getting Netflix free through my mobile provider.

 

It seems like they've completely given up on trying to make good movies.

 

Then as Wade points out they cancel so many things after just one season, too.

 

You can't be doing that in an environment with all these other streaming services.

[Massdriver]

59 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Netflix subscribers fall for first time in a decade, shares plunge 23%

WWW.REUTERS.COM

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Global streaming giant Netflix Inc on Tuesday reported losing subscribers for the first time in more than a decade and predicted more contraction in the second quarter, a rare miss for...

 

Maybe give us an incentive to hang around by not canceling shows after one season?

Agreed. The standard response is they are in line with other cable tv networks with their cancellations, but they aren't choosing the right shows and it feels like an algorithm deciding; they aren't taking intangibles into account or potential viewership surges in later seasons like Breaking Bad had. 

 

Edit: Also they started with top tier content, but now they just produce a lot of trash with the upper end content. Tiger King is a great example of something they did that is shit but popular. 

 

P.S. I still have my subscription and have no plans to cancel. I enjoy a lot of their shows, and I'm catching up on Better Call Saul Season 5 right now on Netflix. There's still tons of value there, but they could do a lot better.

[CitizenVectron]

Netflix is following the classic TLC arc, going from quality to stay-at-home-mom reality show station.

[CayceG]

 

 

 

 

For real though, I cancelled Netflix and have not missed it one bit. Once they gave MST3k short shrift, I was done. So much of what they have is garbage, and so little of what they do have is interesting to me. 

[Brian]

no wonder they are trying to cancel share planning 

[Air_Delivery]

Ever since they started turning streaming into cable tv again I just use Plex and a seedbox 

 

Not about to subscribe to useless and stupid networks like Paramount+ and Peacock.

[Zaku3]

When disrupting the market goes wrong. 

 

Edit: I need to be honest. I don't see how they compete with HBO max and Disney Plus.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

At this point, it's really becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy for Netflix when it comes to the willingness  of the audience to give a new Netflix series a chance simply because why should I (or anyone else) invest the time in a series when there is every possibility that it might end after the first season if it doesn't meet the Almighty Algorithm's metrics, which means that it won't get the viewership to meet those Almighty Algorithm metrics which means it will be cancelled after one season which means I (or anyone else) won't have the willingness to invest the  time in a new series, etc. etc.

[SoberChef]

I just chalk it up to price gouging without an incentive to have "must see" films & series. Up goes the monthly fee while the "quality" continues to trend downward.

[Jason]

4 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

At this point, it's really becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy for Netflix when it comes to the willingness to give a new Netflix series a chance simply because why should I (or anyone else) invest the time in a series when there is every possibility that it might end after the first season if it doesn't meet the Almighty Algorithm's metrics, which means that it won't get the viewership to meet those metrics which means it will be cancelled after one season which means I (or anyone else) won't have the willingness to invest the  time in a new series, etc. etc.

 

Especially after what happened with Cowboy Bebop. They hyped it like crazy and then announced it was cancelled less than a month after it was released.

 

I think their binge model is also contributing to killing them now. Not just because it makes it easier to just pay for a month at a time but mostly because it keeps most of their shows from getting any kind of sustained buzz. Like, try to imagine Mandalorian sustaining the buzz it did Disney had dropped the entire first season at once.

[Zaku3]

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

Especially after what happened with Cowboy Bebop. They hyped it like crazy and then announced it was cancelled less than a month after it was released.

 

I think their binge model is also contributing to killing them now. Not just because it makes it easier to just pay for a month at a time but mostly because it keeps most of their shows from getting any kind of sustained buzz. Like, try to imagine Mandalorian sustaining the buzz it did Disney had dropped the entire first season at once.

 

For binging to work you need a shyt ton of new content coming out. Their business model worked when they were vastly under cutting cable and companies would gladly make a deal with them because it was just an extra source of revenue. Now cable is dying and all those content companies need to replace that with their own streaming services. No reason to give netflix content on the cheap or hell anything at that point. I look at netflix and it reminds me of those bargian bin DVD piles.

 

They are the leader in streaming but how long is that going to last when show and movie quality are questionable at best and you can't trust their original programming to see more then a season. 

 

Plus as you mentioned with netflix binging it's easy to sub for a few days and cancel. 

[SimpleG]

2 minutes ago, Zaku3 said:

I look at netflix and it reminds me of those bargian bin DVD piles.

That is the most apt description I've heard of Netflix.

Well said

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

19 minutes ago, Jason said:

I think their binge model is also contributing to killing them now. Not just because it makes it easier to just pay for a month at a time but mostly because it keeps most of their shows from getting any kind of sustained buzz. Like, try to imagine Mandalorian sustaining the buzz it did Disney had dropped the entire first season at once.

 

Absolutely!

 

The "binge  model" is pure shit for having a show (outside of a few notable exceptions like "Squid Game") generate any sort of zeitgeist in the popular culture.

[Jason]

What'll be a shame is the content side of the house taking the tech shop down with it when the company implodes. In terms of the actual nuts and bolts streaming stuff Netflix is still far and away the best, basically every other streaming service has at least one thing majorly wrong with it from a technical perspective. Like how Paramount+ just will not remember what I've already watched, e.g. with Picard it keeps jumping me to the first season when I click on the show even though the last episode I watched was the most current one, or the fact that it's stuck on offering me "keep watching" for Discovery season 4 episode 7 even though I've finished Discovery season 4 on Paramount+ . Or with how Netflix is so impossible to take down that they had to write testing scripts to take entire regions of theirs on AWS down so that they can test against failures like that. It's the only one that just works without any weird hiccups.

[ThreePi]

Infinite growth is impossible. There was always going to be a peak and Netflix has like a half dozen major competitors that didn't exist 5-10 years.

[Keyser_Soze]

I'm a disc renter so still on board.

[Joe]

I enjoy Netflix. Squid Game and Ozark recently have been excellent 

[Keyser_Soze]

6 minutes ago, Joe said:

I enjoy Netflix. Squid Game and Ozark recently have been excellent 

 

When will you stop being a coward and watch Hellbound?

[Greatoneshere]

There's plenty of good shows I watch on Netflix. They also support a lot of international productions with domestic releases, such as stuff like anime, Peaky Blinders, and Squid Game whilst also providing life extensions to shows like The Last Kingdom. Original content like Arcane, The Witcher, Ozark, etc. are also there as well.

 

They were always gonna hit a peak, I imagine they'll continue to expand into international territories to make up for the peak of subs hit domestically, whilst also trying to reach previously untapped areas in America if internet speeds improve in very rural areas.

[Jason]

Netflix estimates 100 million households are sharing passwords and suggests a global crackdown is coming

WWW.CNBC.COM

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Netflix has been willing to turn a blind eye toward password sharing when it was growing subscribers, but losing customers can change behavior quickly.

 

[GeneticBlueprint]

Netflix Officially Adding Commercials

POPCULTURE.COM

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It's the end of an era for Netflix. While the service has long been praised for its total lack of [...]

Byyyyeeeeee

 

[Keyser_Soze]

8 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

Byyyyeeeeee

 

Only if you're on the pleb plan you'll get commercials.

[GeneticBlueprint]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Only if you're on the pleb plan you'll get commercials.

 

Not the point. It's indicative of their shitiness and it should not be tolerated. Nobody should have to pay anything to watch commercials. Make it free with ads. Not $x cheaper with ads.

[Keyser_Soze]

2 minutes ago, GeneticBlueprint said:

 

Not the point. It's indicative of their shitiness and it should not be tolerated. Nobody should have to pay anything to watch commercials. Make it free with ads. Not $x cheaper with ads.

 

Says the guy who's watching P+ with ads

[GeneticBlueprint]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Says the guy who's watching P+ with ads

 

Not paying for it!

[Keyser_Soze]

The purest streaming service is Viki. Everyone should subscribe to that.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

The stock is now down 37% (-$130).

[Keyser_Soze]

Buy the dip?

[Jason]

20 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Buy the dip?

 

It's Qwikster all over again but they won't bounce back this time.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

It's still down 37% which translates into a market capitalization loss of $56 billion.

[CitizenVectron]

17 hours ago, Jason said:

What'll be a shame is the content side of the house taking the tech shop down with it when the company implodes. In terms of the actual nuts and bolts streaming stuff Netflix is still far and away the best, basically every other streaming service has at least one thing majorly wrong with it from a technical perspective. Like how Paramount+ just will not remember what I've already watched, e.g. with Picard it keeps jumping me to the first season when I click on the show even though the last episode I watched was the most current one, or the fact that it's stuck on offering me "keep watching" for Discovery season 4 episode 7 even though I've finished Discovery season 4 on Paramount+ . Or with how Netflix is so impossible to take down that they had to write testing scripts to take entire regions of theirs on AWS down so that they can test against failures like that. It's the only one that just works without any weird hiccups.

 

One of my giant pet peeves of Disney+ is that if you pick the "continue watching" option, you can't then change the episode. Why?! So if I'm binging Futurama and I want to skip and episode, I can't use that feature, I have to find it manually and then navigate to the episode I want. Prime is just as bad because it treats each season like a show, so sometimes it doesn't realize that you want to go from Season 2 to 3, it just ends.