Enough about no new content on Netflix

Most folks know (or should know) Netflix streaming is not the go to place for new content. For $8.95 a month that is not likely to change. Many/most of us have already viewed (on Blu-ray) most of the titles on that list. Expect more re-purposed TV on Netflix and less movies.

I agree boo. I never watched Starz movies anyway because the image quality sucked. I LOVE Netflix.

I've noticed a slight influx of Sony owned movies returning to Instant next month, courtesy of www.feedfliks.com/streaming, most were originally offered thru Starz Play, so I'm hopeful that more of their films that got cut last summer, (due to the subscriber cap limitation in the contract between Sony & Starz), can be added.

Sort of an off topic rant but, I too am tired of the whining that goes on over the catalog NF has streaming... (I do try to avoid most of the social media sites, but I do check out Facebook regularly). Putting on my tin foil had, and launching into full conspiracy mode, I often feel there's a concerted effort on the part of Netflix rivals to flood social media sites with ultra negative comments and withering screeds. They seem to start in force days before Netflix announces their quarterly financial reports. It's just something I've noticed, and keeps repeating time after time.

I don't have a problem with someone not liking a service, or even stating it. But it just boggles the mind the attitude of so many who rant and wail hysterically, as if someone killed their dog, or slapped their grannie.
I've said this in another thread, and I'll say it again...if Instant Watch programmed a scedule like tv based pay services Showtime and HBO, nobody would fixate on movies shown that they didn't care for. The schedule would put their better material forward, with plenty of encores throughout the month, the rest used to plug in the gaps. Not every movie shown on any outlet is ever watched by every single subscriber, nor would any subscriber EXPECT to love every single title offered.

Netflix does have a pay tv service loaded with entertaining material, and I hate it that media just goes along with the hate filled screeching, and never seems to investigate whether those accusations actually are true or not.

Well, Netflix is on top so of course with everyone getting in on the action now, they're the target.

I have no complaints about the catalog. My queue rarely dips below 30 titles (sitting at 36 right now). More content than I can watch...and that's just on the streaming service. I also get 3 discs at a time. I really need to scale that back a bit.

Last numbers I saw, NF had made pretty good headway in rebuilding their customer base after the name change / price increase "fiasco" .. (I was never bothered by the price increase .. the service was still a good deal ) ..

I'm going out on a limb here, but since Netflix posted first-quarter revenue of $870-million, up 21 per cent from a year earlier. Net income fell, and the company reported an earnings loss of 8 cents per share. .. they seem to be recovering financially as well .. since much of the results are based on Latin American and U.K. expansion ..

You probbaly need to rethink your views on Netflix after yesterdays numbers. Netflix lost $4.6 million in the most recent quarter after posting a $60.2 million profit in the first quarter 2011.

4/24/2012: Blame Netflix troubles on spotty streaming selection
CEO says slower subscriber growth in second quarter is seasonal but Wall Street isn't sure. Investors fear decline in growth tied to lack of streaming content and increased competition.

"Netflix shares toppled last night 16 percent to $85.45 after the Web video-rental service issued first-quarter earnings and projected light subscriber growth for the company's streaming service in the second quarter....Yet, the company predicts it may add as few as 200,000 new streaming customers in Q2 and at most 800,000....


http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-574...ing-selection/

A classic example of a company that killed the goose that laid the golden egg (DVD by mail). They should have let the mail business die off naturally, instead it appeared they went out of their way to shut down that side of the business. At least they have once again made it easier to sign up for disc only (here).

^^The $5 mil 1Q loss is due to the launching of the services in the UK/Ireland, and Latin America. Why does it not surprise me that this reporter didn't bother to mention that?
They added 1.7 mil new subscribers in spite of the departure of Starz...Doesn't that mean that Starz wasn't that as critical as the hysterics were lead to believe?
Mind you, there were only 15 recent Disney films offered by Starz with the Sony films gone since last summer leaving mostly the same type of library titles they (Netflix) are dissed for offering, yet, over 2 million new paid subscribers and no further losses (no further than the 400,000 that canceled after the July rate changes), during the last 11 months.

Boo listed many titles in his original post that disprove the weak lineup argument. The financial report sent out yesterday also included a detailed listing of quality, newer, releases that Instant Watch will have, yet, once again, that information ignored in favor of continuing the 'Netflix doesn't have this...' meme.

Sigh.

Most of those "new" movies look like they are part of the epixHD deal.... epixHD has been pretty consistently making apps for many platforms so you don't really need netflix to get that content anymore (but you do need to have that channel on a cable sub to get it)

I still like Netflix. It is not as good as when I first signed up when Netflix first came into existence, but I still like them. I do have some constructive feedback. I have tried to post this on Netflix Facebook page and any other Netflix web site I can find. I really think Netflix does not care about their customers. I can never get a reply from them to save my life. I use Netflix from my connected devices. I hate using my computer to access Netflix. I like to use my connected device. It is much easier to use. Here lies the issue I have with Netflix. When I first started with Netflix many years ago, I used a Blu-ray player and had the option to add DVD's to my DVD queue. Over time, they changed the UI and severely limited what I can do while browsing the Netflix Library. Then have since taken that option away. Then came the search option, which was temporary and then removed from the UI. Then they limited the amount of content I could look at. Even the PS3, which has the best UI, is limited on what can be seen in the Netflix library. I got my search back, but I am still not able to add DVD's to my queue. Netflix sates that I need to use my computer to brows the entire library and add DVD's to my queue, oh, wait, the UI is the same on their web site as is the PS3. Damn you Netflix. You make the enjoyment of using your service so frustrating.

To get epix content via app costs more than netflix. I think netflix paid too much for epix cuz I really don't see that much content from them. Epix prob would be in dire straits without the netflix deal as many cable companies don't have epix channel. Netflix may be shooting themselves in the foot by paying so much for epix content.

I disagree with the analysts over this "increased competition". The analysts have been saying that for years but I still don't see it. Besides both verizon and comcast streaming have some serious limitations vs netflix. If anything netflix may be hurting themselves for paying too much for streaming content, e.g. epix. They need to focus on making quality original programing, and no that sopranos-lite comedy is not quality to me.

To be fair NF did have a drought recently for about a month where very few new titles were added.

Yeah, this change was done because streaming only customers were WHINING that dvd titles were showing up in search results, and screaming it was a bloody conspiracy to force them to get a dvd plan. So they changed the apps to limit them to displaying only streaming titles.
Thank you whiners for ruining a good thing for the rest of us.

Netflix's UI on devices and their website beats Amazon's by a mile, Netflix also beats Amazon on titles. OK now that is out of the way now the bad news, Netflix is losing money on streaming only customers. The only way they will turn a profit is either go ad-sponsored or raise their subscription fee again. DVD subscribers are profitable but their numbers are declining due to Redbox. I have a streaming and DVD account with Netflix and I can always find something interesting to watch, I use to be a stockholder until last year when Reed Hastings went off his meds and started doing crazy things.

I have to say, I am tired of hearing everyone ragging on Netflix picture quality too.

Right now I am watching the movie, "Hunter Prey" and the picture quality is surprisingly good (the movie itself... ...not so much.) Anyway, I'm watching on a PS3 and on X-High HD I would say it is as good or better than most OTA HD broadcasts, and much better than most cable HD feeds I've seen.

Even on a decent sized screen it looks completely acceptable for primary watching, imo.

The last couple of nights I've been watching Season 1 of "The Walking Dead" and that looked pretty decent too. Comparable to some older films that were made years ago and remastered to Blu Ray.

-Suntan

I got this from another forum.

More movies that should appear on netflix streaming within a year or so of being shown in theaters:
Hunger Games
Cabin in the Woods
The Grey
Act of Valor
Lockout
Mirror Mirror

Netflix numbers were better than what was projected. They had been projecting a loss with their guidance at the end of 3Q2011 because of their aggressive overseas expansion. So the loss was a surprise to no one.

The only surprise was the loss was not as bad as what they had been projecting for a long time. And they had originally projected losses for the entire year, now their guidance shows that might not be the case. They decided to spend the money now for their overseas expansions so it can payout in the future with even more subscribers from overseas.

You should know that would be expected with the wide range of service folks have from IPs and the range of devices used for decoding Netflix.

Broadcast TV varies as well, at my former address the CBS affiliates main HD channel averaged about 9 Mbps and it looked it. My current local CBS (WSPA) affiliates main HD channel averages about 14 - 15 Mbps and looks quite good.

I know I ragged on the service a couple of months ago when I first started because I foolishly expected there to be more content than there is. I didn't rationally look at it from the "what do you expect for $7.99 a month?" point of view. Now that I do, I am okay with what is on there and that list of what is coming are nice additions.

That said, once I found all that I wanted during my trial month and a few extra bonus suggestions that I checked out, I'm finding there is nothing I care to watch right now. If that doesn't change by the end of next month, I might have to put the service on hold.

Holy crap, how much stuff did you watch in one month. I think I watch way too much TV and between the stuff in my Hulu and Netflix queue I don't think I'll ever get around to watching all the stuff I want to. And that's not even taking into consideration stuff I watch from other streaming avenues like Youtube and several Plex and XBMC apps.

In addition to my local content I don't think I'll be starved for stuff to watch. My interests are pretty wide and varied though and I don't mind going back and watching old episodes of my favorite shows so that might make these online streaming services a better bargain for me than it would for someone else. I've found a lot of interesting documentaries and specials I missed on Netflix in addition to shows like Arrested Development and Battlestar Galactica that I either never watched or gave a good enough shot that I'm thoroughly enjoying now.

I assume you've already checked out the "gems and finds" thread and still nothing interests you? I think you'd be surprised if you took a chance on some of the dozens/hundreds of movies in that thread you may not have heard of.

But to each their own, and I won't rag on someone (much) for not being able to find something to watch. Just there's soooo much good stuff on there.

Of course, I sometimes envy people whose tastes apparently aren't as varied as mine are. I'd have much more time if there were less movies I was interested in. Then I'd have the time to do things. Important things. Like play more video games.

I think the key is exactly what you said... There is a segment of people who do want to see the obscure stuff and netflix delivers that very well. Then there is a much larger segment who just want the new releases of the movies that were in the theater (I fall into this group) complimented by some tv content. I actually want to pay netflix more and have them bring more new releases.

Ever since we got hbo go on xbox I have been evaluating both services and for me hbogo is the clear winner even though their video quality is worse and don't have 5.1 yet. It strikes a good balance of regularly rotating new release movies and still having tv shows (even if its limited to hbo shows only). That is the kind of service I was hoping netflix would give me. Getting dreamworks animation from hbo was a very good step in this direction but they need to have more (because dreamworks animation really is a pretty small studio and doesn't release that many movies each year). They need to get atleast one of the big 6 to start playing the new release game.

Now I do think hbo is making a huge mistake by not letting me pay for it stand alone... I don't have cable anymore so I am sharing my brothers account but for me it works well enough.... I do wish they would give me the option to just pay the $16 a month and get it that way.

I almost kind of wish netflix would get big enough (and start charging more) where they could outbid all the movie networks for their movies and put them all out of business.... it really is a mess with the studios and the movie channels where they are constantly swapping between hbo, sho and starz and you never really know what's airing where.

Yeah, I get that. I always have said I'd pay Netflix 50 or 60 a month if I could get more new releases (I'd still be coming out ahead compared to Vudu's prices, given the amount of movies I watch).

This is not meant to insult anyone or say they don't have good tastes in movies, but I remember discovering in my 30's that I liked sushi but had avoided it because it sounded gross. Oh the years I wasted when there was so much delicious sushi I could have been eating! (I have since made up for it...that and my late discovery of sweet sweet Guiness).

I had the same feelings/regrets when I "discovered" foreign movies and independent movies (in my mid-20's) that I had up to that point avoided because of subtitles or just not being a Hollywood movie that had been in theaters and I that I had heard of because it had a $20+ million advertising budget. Over the years and to this day, many of the best movies I've seen (while a mix of course) definitely lean towards that foreign/independent market.

That's why I always encourage people to at least give some of the titles in that thread a shot, rather than dismiss them outright. Many people at AVS are pretty accepting of these (barring a few exceptions of course), but outside of AVS, trying to convince someone to watch a foreign movie is like trying to convince my 10 year old to try candied yams.....chances are he'd like them if he tried...but getting him to try that first bite is a nightmare.


Of course, being a late bloomer to the foreign/independent movie market isn't as regrettable to me as my late discovery of sushi. I can always go back and watch movies, but I can't go back and eat sushi 3 times a week for the last 10 years. I'd probably be dead of mercury poisoning by now though, so I guess I shouldn't complain. It gives me a reason to work out and stay in shape....so I can live longer so I can eat more sushi.

And yes, I'm aware my analogies suck. No need to point it out.

That would be too much for the general consumer to stomach but I could see a time where 19.99 was the netflix plan price delivering new movies. I think most people would go for that.

Also something else I really dislike about netflix is the actual UI.... leaving the app's out of this for the moment (which are equally as bad).... netflix really does a poor job letting you know when new stuff is out. For example on hbogo xbox app you know on saturday night you can go there and see the "new movie of the week" and its advertised front and center and every week there will be something new. Same thing with new release tuesday.... you know to go check your fav store (vudu, zune, itunes, etc) because there will always be something new each tuesday.

Netflix really should have a new movie of the week section and leverage their epixhd content for now and dreamworks later but it would be important to get enough new content that you could fill 52 slots a year. I actually think the entire recommendation system is broken and does not effectively communicate what is new or noteworthy each week. A weekly new release section combined with the "top 50/new and noteworthy" info instantwatcher gives us would be a much better way to aggregate netflix's content.

The fact that instantwatcher and others even need to exist is more evidence of this need.

I see people complaining about the Netflix app but it depends on the device, for example on Sony and Roku devices the UI has a New Arrival category. They also have a Top Picks For You category which gives a few titles based on your viewing habits. I had a LG Blu-ray player(BD570) but returned it because the UI was horrible.


Sushi is still gross to me, I don't eat bait. Guiness on the other hand is good, I really enjoy a good Porter or Stout.

They don't wish to feature what's new for a variety of reasons. One being they don't want to highlight new content which puts the old content in the backseat... devaluing it even more. I'm trying their disc program (yet again) and under new releases you'll find films that have been released for well over six months. You can't even pick a time frame to view... obviously they feel they gain more than they lose.

They definitely have Netflix centric mantras (which drive some crazy including myself at times) but with the amount of user testing they do they must have some basis. I think this one evolves around being a subscription service versus PPV... content is always available regardless of its age.

I do agree they are making that choice but I still think its the wrong approach.... this thread is proof in that they do have some newer stuff but the perception is they don't because they make it so hard to find. The kind of odd thing is netflix is like the next generation of the dvd wall. Serves as great filler when there are no new releases you want to watch but its long term appeal is minimal. I think people are already starting to see past that and netflix will have to adapt or risk going the way of the wall of dvd's.



The xbox has a similar view too but their new arrivals are not actual new arrivals... the funny thing is I really have no idea where they get their new arrival list from because some of that stuff has been on netflix for months when it shows up there. you have to go to sites like instantwatcher to see what is actually new which imo is a big mistake.