DirecTV Plans Netflix Competitor

jfruhlinger writes "DirecTV isn't sitting still in the long-simmering war between traditional TV providers and digital streaming services. A survey the satellite network sent to customers this week indicates that it may be planning a streaming service of its own."

Missing the point

[getto man d]

It's not just streaming; a reliable mail service that allows me to watch many of the movies I enjoy is worth the monthly fee.

Predictions about the service

[hinesbrad]

1) It will be wildly overpriced relative to its rivals 2) It will be slower and attached as an add-on to already crappy HDD based DVR's that are slow, buggy, and break constantly yet I have to pay to fix/replace them 3) There will be a bandwidth and viewer cap per show, 4) It will have commercials added in while I browse to subsidize revenue 5) The content will be ancient and I won't actually want to see it 6) They will adapt an iTunes/Pay-Per-View model on content that is free on other providers instead of an all-you-can-stream model, PLUS they will play the cutsie auto-delete game on content I paid for after a certain time, a-la Pay-Per-View. 7) It will be a raving pain in the ass to find anything as the remote will most certainly lack a qwerty input because YOU ARE CHEAP 8) Half of the content will be Programming in A Foreign language, Dogmatic religion channels, and there will be a curious absence of indy, YouTube and non-commercial studio content. 9) I will be restricted on the number of episodes I can 'save' or view at one time. 10) I'm more likely to get a high Def video faster from a torrent source than I am a directTV service 11) You will force me to purchase crap channels/content/HD services I don't want to access this service 12) The content that is available won't be the complete catalog of a series. I will be the last 5 episodes plus ancient episodes a la Hulu. 13) You will disable fast-forward through commercials in downloaded content to boost your revenue streams. DirectTV: I'd rather have a pineapple forcibly shoved up my ass and spun around at 4000 RPM's than have your filth clogging the one last refuge of free speech and innovation in the world. Your installation franchisees are awful. Your internet service sucks. You hold content providers hostage. Your DVR's are crap. I really hope Netflix comes and knocks you on your ass...

Satellite will still be their primary business

[pcjunky]

They will do like any other business, use the service to try and protect their core business. You think they will settle for selling a service that earns around $10 per month and destroy their own business that earns around $70 per month? Me thinks not.