Netflix Turns Focus Back to Disc

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by dyne

Thanks for the info guys. How could one company make so many terrible decisions in such short time? Oddly enough the dvd.netflix site takes me to a sign in page to restart my membership. I can either restart the $7.99/month for streaming which I don't want or add dvd to the streaming for $15/month. There's no dvd only option. To hell with them. I don't want them to have my money if they can't even get a website or business model right.

Because streaming is the future. Dish btw is starting to close down Blockbuster stores, with Blockbuster eventually becoming a stream/wireless entity. For now they are keeping enough open to service their Dish customers who signed up for Blockbuster.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400672,00.asp

DISH to Close 500 Blockbuster Stores, Looks to Wireless

DISH Network said Thursday that it plans to close 500 Blockbuster video stores before the end of March.

The company also has an "80 percent chance" of succeeding in the wireless business, although the company is still awaiting FCC approval, chairman Charlie Ergen said during a conference call with analysts.

Dish was selected as the winning bidder in Blockbuster's bankruptcy auction in April, and acquired Blockbuster's assets for about $228 million after various cost adjustments. But the stores are operating at "breakeven" levels, according to Joe Clayton, the company's chief executive.

DISH bought 1,500 Blockbuster stores in the purchase, and hasn't said how many related kiosks it operates that compete with Coinstar's Redbox movie-rental kiosks.

The goal is to close underperforming stores, leaving enough that they will complement the DISH pay-TV business as well as a future wireless business. DISH bought spectrum from DBSD North America Inc. and Terrestar Networks in 2011, and has asked the U.S. government for permission to offer wireless services. That decision is expected in the next couple of weeks.

Clayton also said that DISH would launch Blockbuster@Home during the first quarter, which he described as "basically our original Blockbuster Movie Pass announced last fall, but now enhanced with an additional 6,000 streamed family and kid shows".

In addition, DISH plans DISH Test Drive, which lets consumers view video on their tablet, PC or smartphone at no charge for 24 hours, Clayton added.

DISH's overarching goal is to attract new users by offering products with name recognition, such as the "Hopper" DVR the company launched at the Consumer Electronics Show, in addition to a companion device, dubbed "Joey". Both products will be marketed via a national advertising campaign that begins on March 15.

For its part, the strategy appears to be working; DISH gained 22,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, both from increased activations and improved churn. The company reported net income of $313 million on revenue of $3.63 billion, both up from the year before.

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Since I do both BD and steaming I'm not sure what other website slick is talking about. Try giving them a call dyne instead, The phone number is (888) 811-1933. Customer service was pretty great when I called the other day. I lost my return label for my BD and they are sending me out the next thing on my que.

Read the article I posted.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Because streaming is the future. Dish btw is starting to close down Blockbuster stores, with Blockbuster eventually becoming a stream/wireless entity. For now they are keeping enough open to service their Dish customers who signed up for Blockbuster.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400672,00.asp







Read the article I posted.

People have been saying that for 20 years.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

People have been saying that for 20 years.

DSL has only been around in the US for 15 years and cable a little less than that.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Because streaming is the future. Dish btw is starting to close down Blockbuster stores, with Blockbuster eventually becoming a stream/wireless entity. For now they are keeping enough open to service their Dish customers who signed up for Blockbuster.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400672,00.asp

Not the only future, and that's a fact!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

DSL has only been around in the US for 15 years and cable a little less than that.

What? Subscription Cable TV has been around for over sixty years.

Or do you mean the internet? But thats been around for well over 20 years as well.

[Wernski]

I had streaming when it was free, but I'm back to DVD-only. I only (and have only) gone to netflix.com... not quikster or dvd.netflix or anything else. If I go to "My Account" in the top right, all the plan options are there, including streaming, DVD-only, Blu-Ray additions and combined.

Signing out and looking at the main page without logging in... I think they're just saying the 1 month free trial includes streaming, but once you sign up (or re-activate your old account), you would then pick whatever plan you want.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Not the only future, and that's a fact!

Its also a fact that I, nor anyone disputes that. But expect streaming to increase as time goes by, both in the number of subscribers and quality and selection of the content.

[Steedeel]

[QUOTE=HD Goofnut;5855324]DSL has only been around in the US for 15 years and cable a little less than that.[/Q

Really?

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Its also a fact that I, nor anyone disputes that. But expect streaming to increase as time goes by, both in the number of subscribers and quality and selection of the content.

I would hope so, as the typicial goal of any given technology is to further advance itself. This is pretty much understood.

[rickah88]

Well I can think of almost 1800 reasons why Netflix streamers might be a little pissed today. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for one-stop shopping Netflix streaming style?
Perhaps now they can go back to what made them industry giants: disc rentals, and start boosting their BD library.

[slick1ru2]

Motley Fool, 4/20/2003 video, Netflix Fought the Cable and Netflix Won :

Netflix Fought the Cable and Netflix Won - YouTube

http://money.msn.com/now/netflix-los...rs-wont-notice

Netflix loses 1,900 movies, but viewers won't notice

With some 60,000 titles available, the removal of such fare as 'Blonde and Blonder' may not cause too much pain

During the latest quarter, Netflix added 2 million new video-streaming customers and reported earnings that were much better than Wall Street expected.

Some of the films being dropped are hardly "classics." Among them are 1965's "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini," featuring the late Annette Funicello; Adam Sandler's "Big Daddy" from 1999, which, like most of the comedian's films, earned critical derision; and "Blonde and Blonder," a 2007 flick starring Denise Richards (best known for being one of Charlie Sheen's ex-wives) and ex-"Baywatch" babe Pamela Anderson, who are mistaken by a mob boss for "deadly assassins." Hilarity no doubt ensues.

Netflix spokesman Joris Evers tells Atlantic.com that the service cuts and adds titles all the time. Among the films coming to Netflix is "Hunger Games." The company also is investing in original content and is bringing back the cult comedy "Arrested Development," which News Corp.'s Fox (NWS) canceled a few years ago.

The only real loss was the Bond films, but they are on Epix streaming, which was just added to the PS3. And some of the movies lost are free on Crackle.

[rickah88]

Yeah then they just lost their entire Warner library. Hopefully they put that money towards the purchase of blu-ray discs...they never go away.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Yeah then they just lost their entire Warner library. Hopefully they put that money towards the purchase of blu-ray discs...they never go away.

Doubt it. They get lost in the mail and damaged or held at customer's houses for unknown amounts of time. I have a copy of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter from Blockbuster at Home that I've had for 3 months that I haven't gotten around to watching. Also the studios are making rental Blu-rays that make them basically the movie with no extras. That's put a damper on disc rentals. Might as well stream it, see if you like it and if you do buy it on disc.

[slick1ru2]

Also, NetFlix added 500 titles today. Anyway, I stream Crackle, Epix, HBO Go, Max Go and Amazon Prime, usually via Roku which has a search engine that searches all the movie apps which is pretty sweet.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Doubt it. They get lost in the mail and damaged or held at customer's houses for unknown amounts of time. I have a copy of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter from Blockbuster at Home that I've had for 3 months that I haven't gotten around to watching. Also the studios are making rental Blu-rays that make them basically the movie with no extras. That's put a damper on disc rentals. Might as well stream it, see if you like it and if you do buy it on disc.

LOL! You're the exception, not the rule.
If you can't read the tea leaves, that's a you problem...but this is the just the beginning. WB started the push, I wouldn't be surprised to hear another big studio to pull their library. Why do they need a middle man?
Can't wait to see all these streamers crying, when they have to pay each individual studio to stream their content. The one-stop shopping store is experiencing the beginning of the end.
I was wondering why I had several of my saved dvd's upgraded to BD's over the last couple of weeks. Great news indeed for disc owners. The sooner Netflix goes back to being a disc rental company, and ONLY a disc rental company the better.
Looking forward to renting House of Cards as it's going to be upgraded to blu-ray soon.
Pretty soon that will be the only streaming content left on Netflix: Original content.
Heck this is just the tip of the ice berg. All those UV fans...what happens IF studios starting pulling their content of the nice puffy cloud? Oh man. I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened.
Keep my blu-ray discs coming, thank you very much!

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by rickah88

LOL! You're the exception, not the rule.
If you can't read the tea leaves, that's a you problem...but this is the just the beginning. WB started the push, I wouldn't be surprised to hear another big studio to pull their library. Why do they need a middle man?
Can't wait to see all these streamers crying, when they have to pay each individual studio to stream their content. The one-stop shopping store is experiencing the beginning of the end.
I was wondering why I had several of my saved dvd's upgraded to BD's over the last couple of weeks. Great news indeed for disc owners. The sooner Netflix goes back to being a disc rental company, and ONLY a disc rental company the better.
Looking forward to renting House of Cards as it's going to be upgraded to blu-ray soon.
Pretty soon that will be the only streaming content left on Netflix: Original content.
Heck this is just the tip of the ice berg. All those UV fans...what happens IF studios starting pulling their content of the nice puffy cloud? Oh man. I can hear the pitchforks being sharpened.
Keep my blu-ray discs coming, thank you very much!

Guess you missed that 2 million signed up last quarter alone. And I expect NetFlix to start producing shows that stopped production with huge followings like Arrested Development.

And of course the content on NetFlix is always changing. Viacom is in talks right now about extending their catalog with Netflix. Its not the studio, they want to be on NetFlix. Its only tip of the iceberg is the increase in streaming platforms and subscribers. Your 'what if' scenarios are funny though.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/ind...ending-5-30315

The surprisingly strong growth of electronic sellthrough, or EST, can be attributed largely to increased access to digital content. Credit for this, observers say, goes to UltraViolet, which ties in physical disc sales with digital sales and has been embraced by leading retailers like Walmart and Best Buy.

Consumers buy a disc and can then access that content anywhere, at anytime, on a wide array of devices, including smartphones and tablets. The success of UltraViolet appears to have broken Apple's grip on the EST market and positioned it for much broader acceptance.

House of Cards? Old news. Hemlock Grove and upcoming Arrested Development are the new series.

[slick1ru2]

Digital media is becoming so popular that Vudu has come out with Disc to Digital. You take your DVD or Blu ray to Walmart, pay $2 for BD and $5 for DVD to have access to your movies on VUDU and all its platforms. Its like adding UV after buying your movie. I have several DVDs that aren't in BD I will take down to add. You keep your physical movie.

http://www.vudu.com/disc_to_digital.html

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Guess you missed that 2 million signed up last quarter alone. And I expect NetFlix to start producing shows that stopped production with huge followings like Arrested Development.

And of course the content on NetFlix is always changing. Viacom is in talks right now about extending their catalog with Netflix. Its not the studio, they want to be on NetFlix. Its only tip of the iceberg is the increase in streaming platforms and subscribers. Your 'what if' scenarios are funny though.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/ind...ending-5-30315



House of Cards? Old news. Hemlock Grove and upcoming Arrested Development are the new series.

Hemlock Grove, while I might be interested in that, early chatter is that will be a stinkfest. But I digress...
I never said streaming is losing in popularity, quite the opposite streaming is very big. Thanks a lot to Netflix gambling on it, and advancing it as a product. Now studios know they can make money, and will want to make money on their libraries. WB was just the first to pull their content. Others will follow. This is will be a huge blow to Netflix.
Of course their Q1 stock is up, House of Cards was a bonifide hit, again something I mentioned. I'm sure Arrested Development will gain traction too.
You're missing my point, or choosing to ignore it...which is: the days of cheap streaming are coming to an end. The paradigm shift here will a la carte. Which means more expense to the streaming customer.
Meanwhile if the pieces fall into place, this could mean a lot to disc renters, as Netflix could be forced to REALLY put the focus back on disc rental as they lose more and more content.
It's still early, we'll have to see. But you're crazy if you don't think this is a big blow to Netflx. I'm sure Q2 results will attest to that. Again, we shall see. I know I've got my popcorn, and am enjoying this streaming war to it's fullest.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

Digital media is becoming so popular that Vudu has come out with Disc to Digital. You take your DVD or Blu ray to Walmart, pay $2 for BD and $5 for DVD to have access to your movies on VUDU and all its platforms. Its like adding UV after buying your movie. I have several DVDs that aren't in BD I will take down to add. You keep your physical movie.

http://www.vudu.com/disc_to_digital.html

And?
I never said streaming was losing traction, just streaming WITH NETFLIX, after the lose of the Warner library. Stay focused here.

[slick1ru2]

Uh, you have it backwards, its not Viacom pulling their movies, its NetFlix not renewing. Their CEO was scrambling to the shareholders reassuring them that Viacom will be OK. You have that backwards. In other words, NetFlix didn't think those 2000 titles were worth the price, and btw, that's only 3% of what's in the streaming catalog. Not even that since they added 500 titles today.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-...ix-deal-to-end

Viacom Inc. was the worst performing media company stock in an upbeat market Tuesday after Netflix Inc. said it will end its broad deal to license content from Viacom's Nickelodeon, BET and MTV networks at the end of May.

Instead, Netflix said that it is in talks to license particular shows from Viacom for its streaming customers, but that no deal had been reached.