Comments
dcawrey
4/25/2017 12:30:50 PM
User Rank Platinum
Packages
Selling streaming content in such small packages is a great idea.
This again shows how flexible these services can be when compared with the classic cable subscription.
Re: Packages
Absolutely, 3-7 days package based streaming sounds like a great economical idea for developing countries. This is exactly considered as tuning to customer needs. This is a great idea to grab more global markets.
Ariella
4/25/2017 3:30:00 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Packages
Yes, I'd bet other markets would also like such options, say if there is only one series you want to watch and don't wish to commit to subscribing on a long term basis.
mhhf1ve
4/25/2017 4:26:57 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
Netflix already has a month-by-month service.. so I doubt they'll make that shorter in the US since banks and credit cards are common, and there's no incentive for Netflix to try shorter service periods.
Ariella
4/25/2017 4:34:21 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve you're probably right. Has it never ventured into something like pay for a view without subscribing like on Amazon?
mhhf1ve
4/25/2017 6:27:34 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
I assume that someday Netflix will license out its older content to other platforms, just like HBO does. So someday Stranger Things will be available on iTunes/Amazon as well, but never the latest season. HBO does this because it knows it's good advertising for getting users to pay for the latest HBO seasons.
Ariella
4/25/2017 7:24:30 PM
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Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve I suppose so. Do they also release their programs on DVD the way regular TV programs do?
afwriter
4/25/2017 11:39:53 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@Ariella, I don't think that they release every show, but I know some of their bigger ones like Orange is the New Black have for sure been released on DVD.
Ariella
4/26/2017 8:34:39 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Packages
@afwriter perhaps they only do it for the ones that are major hits then.
JohnBarnes
4/29/2017 12:03:49 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
Ariella,
Certainly old hits will become available on other services first, but I would bet that eventually almost everything will -- it's so cheap to pick up the long tail profits that I don't think they'll be left on the table in the long run.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:26:06 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@afwriter, I think you are right. I have tried to view some past shows online but was unable to.
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve:
You are right when we think about US market. These short service deals are more for developing markets.
sowen
4/26/2017 10:55:03 AM
User Rank Silver
Re: Packages
I was under the impression most of Africa (Nigeria in particular) has huge piracy issue?
Re: Packages
@sowen:
That seems like a possibility. However I do not have any first hand information on that.
elizabethv
4/28/2017 10:13:02 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@sowen - I believe you are right about the piracy issue, but I'm guessing it's with newer content and from people who much more regular access to internet. I would imagine the content they access from Netflix or the Roku is content most people in the States are already able to access through the same avenues and others.
JohnBarnes
4/29/2017 12:10:05 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
ElizabethV,
There are several flavors of piracy and I'd bet that the one in Africa currently is probably the improvised paid sharing model -- i.e. one person who can afford the content is able to afford it only because s/he has found a way to resell the content. That's actually not a big loss to the producer/owners because, first of all, it's an audience they wouldn't get at all if it weren't for the pirates, so there's no real competition with the legit business, and secondly, to a great extent it's free advertising; as the world gets wealthier more of the secondary riders will get their own subscriptions/access.
Not at all the same kind of problem you have with some of the Asian and East European industrial pirate operations that sell in direct competiton with the owners.
elizabethv
4/29/2017 4:54:16 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@JohnBarnes - That makes a lot of sense. And you're right about the Asian piracy issue. I know someone who works for an airline and regularly goes to China. She told a mutual friend that she reguarly brings back a suitcase full of DVD's from China. What she does with them from there I have no idea, because I know she does pretty well in life, given that her husband is the supervisor of a major chain store for the entire West Coast, so I can't imagine she's selling them. Not my problem I suppose. The piracy you describe in Nigeria almost seems "nice" to me. I have to wonder if the creators of the content that is eventually pirated wouldn't benefit from trying to work with those people in some way. Or maybe they have better things to do.
JohnBarnes
4/29/2017 5:36:47 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
ElizabethV,
It definitely depends on the individual case and situation. Some fairly minor American writers and performers, for example, have become big in small countries, exactly via that kind of friendly piracy, and it has worked out well for them. Some artists actually encourage some level of piracy for just that reason. There are some fine playwrights, musicians, poets, and short fiction writers who basically leave their work lying around to be "stolen" and then make their living off touring.
Been going on for a long time, too. The Clancy Brothers and the Irish Rovers were both not much in Ireland and worked very nearly for free over here in their first years; Malvina Reynolds (Little Boxes, What Have They Done to the Rain?,Morningtown Ride, a few million other folkie standards) was embracing the pirates long before they were called pirates. And of course if Paramount had not allowed so many people to get away with massive piracy relating to Star Trek, there might not have been the loyal fan force around to turn it back into a hit several times in its long history.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:34:20 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@JohnBarnes, Oh wow I didn't realize that. Thanks for sharing. I learned something new today.
elizabethv
4/30/2017 8:43:41 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@JohnBarnes - There's almost a part of me that sees that kind of piracy as nostaligic. I like to believe artists, like the Grateful Dead, who accept some "piracy" do what they do for the love of the craft, over the love of a dollar.
As for Star Trek, I love that it is making a come back. There is even going to be a new series. But you're right, it never truly died off because they have a large, very devoted, fan base.
mhhf1ve
5/1/2017 7:37:16 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
Netlix is apparently tolerant to piracy -- they just refused to pay a ransom to hackers who got ahold of the current season of Orange is the new black before Netflix released it. And there's some good reason to think Netflix won't be harmed by OITNB being available on Bittorrent sites.
batye
5/2/2017 2:32:41 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve interesting to know... but I think Netflix could afford to stay it grounds... I trust you are right...
mhhf1ve
5/2/2017 2:20:21 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Netflix stands up to pirates
> "I think Netflix could afford to stand its ground.." (edited)
I don't think Netflix's financial stability is the reason behind it being able to refuse to pay a ransom to hackers. Netflix simply has a hacker-resistant business model where its users are subscribers who pay for convenience. The hackers offer no convenience for pirates and don't take away the convenience that Netflix offers to anyone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2017/04/29/netflix-hacker-makes-hilariously-ineffective-demand/#48c1a32b7b18
batye
5/2/2017 4:24:31 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Netflix stands up to pirates
@mhhf1ve thanks for the link, when I think about your point of view idea... I trust you are right with your assesment of Netflix vs Hackers...
mhhf1ve
5/2/2017 6:17:17 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Netflix stands up to pirates
Well, the one thing that these hackers did provide is early access to the new season of OITNB, which is something that Netflix doesn't seem to be matching. It's not releasing its official OITNB season early, but then again, when it does, it will release all of the episodes together at the same time, so there's not much impact on Netflix's business.
batye
5/2/2017 7:42:35 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Netflix stands up to pirates
@mhhf1ve interesting to know... but I would ask the question why hackers did it... what is the end game??? LMK wyt?
freehe
4/30/2017 8:29:54 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@elizabethv, Oh wow, that is crazy. Let's hope they were put to good use and given away for free.
batye
5/2/2017 2:37:02 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@freehe I would hope soo, but the way I see it it not gonna be totaly free... one way or other we will pay for it...
srufolo1
4/26/2017 12:23:02 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve That's true. There is no need to offer shorter service periods other than month-by-month because that is typically the way everything is billed here. Netflix agreed to the shorter service periods to accomodate the African budget.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:27:28 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@srufolo1, There may not be a need but I would definitely buy that option. But I understand the needs in Africa are significantly different than in the U.S.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:24:45 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve, Good point but I really wish they would. We want it in the U.S. too!
Re: Packages
@Ariella:
Can't agree more with you. You are absolutely right , there could be other markets that will be ready to try out these options.
elizabethv
4/28/2017 10:08:58 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@Ariella - I almost wonder if they'd end up making more money by offering short term packages like that. A customer would pay for their 3-7 days for one series. Maybe a few months down the road find another to do it again. Repeat process until the person decides they just need to be paying for the month-to-month service.
JohnBarnes
4/29/2017 12:11:56 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
In the developed world, you could call the 3- or 7- day subscriptions "binge rate" -- thereby letting people feel like they were being fashionable in their consumption habits, rather than cheap.
elizabethv
4/29/2017 4:56:37 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@JohnBarnes - I love the name "Binge Rate" and I would bet there are people that would be willing to pay it, just because of a name like that. I think some people only like to "binge" at certain times. I personally just kind of binge naturally. I get in the mood to watch a show, and I watch the whole thing. Though I don't think it's in quite a "binge" fashion, because I don't have 3-6+ hours of spare time to just sit and watch a show. So I watch small snipits when I can. It's taken me about 3 months to re-make my way through Friends, and I'm only on season 7 of 10.
JohnBarnes
4/29/2017 5:41:03 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
ElizabethV,
As I said, I'm really thinking it's just that "Binge Rate" sounds better than "temporary week." But you could tie it to times of year when there's a high volume of viewers; "Netflix Binge Rate available for next two weeks only! Get your friends into your favorite series! Cuddle up with your sweetie for a whole weekend to watch Seasons 1-3 of our hit series, Average Actors Delivering Cliches!"
mhhf1ve
5/1/2017 4:16:19 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
> "As I said, I'm really thinking it's just that "Binge Rate" sounds better than "temporary week." But you could tie it to times of year when there's a high volume of viewers; "Netflix Binge Rate available for next two weeks only!"
The thing is.. Netflix already does a "promotional binge month" in a more targeted way when it selectively offers a "first free month" of service to members who dropped the service or to new customers who have never tried it. It doesn't need to offer a better promotion than that right now... Maybe if Hulu or other streaming services get more competitive?
mhhf1ve
5/1/2017 4:16:20 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
> "As I said, I'm really thinking it's just that "Binge Rate" sounds better than "temporary week." But you could tie it to times of year when there's a high volume of viewers; "Netflix Binge Rate available for next two weeks only!"
The thing is.. Netflix already does a "promotional binge month" in a more targeted way when it selectively offers a "first free month" of service to members who dropped the service or to new customers who have never tried it. It doesn't need to offer a better promotion than that right now... Maybe if Hulu or other streaming services get more competitive?
batye
5/2/2017 2:34:29 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@mhhf1ve I would say it woud make them think and try they better way to outpreform Netflix... as everyone fighting this days for consumers dollars
freehe
4/30/2017 8:30:46 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@elizabethv, I would definitely buy the Binge Rate. Netflix bring it to the U.S. please. Thank you.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:23:35 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@Ariella, Yes I know I would love that option. Bring it to the U.S. please. Thank you.
freehe
4/30/2017 8:22:35 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Packages
@dcawrey, I agree. It is very forward-thinking. They found out what the customer wants instead of thinking that they know what the customer wants.
clrmoney
4/25/2017 3:21:12 PM
User Rank Platinum
Africa innovative billing
This is great for Africa that they have a billing service to make it easier for them and be more cheaper and convenient for customers etc.
Re: Africa innovative billing
@clrmoney:
You are right. Knowing the limitations of Africa, this is an excellent option and also a great Win-Win situation. I am sure there are other markets with similar situation, willing to explore this.
srufolo1
4/26/2017 12:18:17 AM
User Rank Platinum
Innovative Billing Brought Neflix to Africa
Necessity truly is the Mother of Invention in these African nations. The things we take for granted here, like electricity and simply having a bank account, do not exist for the most part, according to this CEO. However, with a little clever thinking, Econet Media's Kwese partnered up with Netflix just so it could bring TV into the average African home.
Michelle
4/26/2017 2:27:03 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Innovative Billing Brought Neflix to Africa
I think they've done an excellent job working with providers to build a program that will meet users needs where they are. It's really important for providers to consider its customers in this way.
dcawrey
4/28/2017 2:15:10 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Innovative Billing Brought Neflix to Africa
Netflix has always done well when it comes to offering prospective customers a free trial. That's been their sweet spot for years. Now they've just taken that short trail and made it a paid thing for other markets.
elizabethv
4/28/2017 10:06:53 PM
User Rank Platinum
Makes sense
It totally makes sense that if you have to pay a lot of money to run a generator, you would want to prioritize what you use the generator for, and TV watching would come in far down on that list. Offering 3-7 day packages is brilliant. If you knew you'd have electricity, or had a little extra spending money one week, you could allow yourself the "treat" without the commitment of continually having to pay for something you couldn't use.
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