Netflix Pursues Cable-TV Deals 93
An anonymous reader writes "Netflix is making a push to make its online video service available as an app on set-top boxes. 'A deal would mark the online video service's first such tie-up with a U.S. cable provider and would come after a similar agreement it recently announced with U.K. cable operator Virgin Media Inc. The talks are in early stages and no deal is imminent, the people cautioned. Netflix and U.S. pay-TV companies are rivals in some key respects. Netflix's subscription video offering is an attractive alternative for some consumers who are frustrated with costly cable bills. And both sides want to be the go-to destination for consumers to find on-demand TV programming.'"
Um... (Score:5, Insightful)
People Still Use Cable? (Score:4, Insightful)
At that point cable very quickly becomes pointless. Netflix delivers more than enough great content to fill our idle hours, and costs us roughly $75 a month less. I can't count how many TV series we've plowed through (Currently working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and how we don't care if they were originally broadcast a few years ago.
In all seriousness, the business model for cable is looking more and more like the business model for the music industry.
Piracy is still the best option (Score:3, Insightful)
Piracy is still the best, or in some cases the only option until companies wake up.
Lets see
- If I want a particular show, not the entire channel or package that requires that channel
- If I don't want to wait months (or years if in a different country) after it has aired to watch it
- If I want to have it in a standard format that doesn't require proprietary crap (e.g. mkv, avi, mp4)
- If I want to watch it ad free
- If I want to watch something that isn't otherwise released to Netflix or whatever...
Oh, and for the anti-piracy whingers:
- It's not stealing, it's copying. You may think the activity morally wrong, but that doesn't make it stealing
- Every download is not a lost sale. A bunch of stuff I wouldn't pay for in the first place.
- It has nothing to do with entitlement. It's about opportunity and choice.
I would Gladly pay $5/episode for something like Breaking Bad, a show I enjoyed greatly.
I had to download it, as I'm not going to pay for an entire package of channels just to watch one show, and there is no way to watch it the night it airs in a way I can play on mplayer with Linux or stream to my TV using DLNA.
Your loss media companies....
Re:Netflix wants to DRM the web (Score:4, Insightful)
The same way DRM destroyed the open computer? I dunno about you but I can still do whatever the hell I want on my computer, and can circumvent DRM if needed.
I'm no fan of DRM, but it's a compromise I'd be willing to make to bring the movie and tv studios inline with the music industry, and if history is any guide, after a few years the tv and movie people will agree to drm-free releases as did the music industry. Play the long game, not the reactionary steadfast to ideology game.
Re: Piracy is still the best option (Score:2, Insightful)
Breaking Bad was able to be purchased through iTunes by the episode or as a season.
So, horseshit you would have paid for it. You are just trying to justify your piracy when it is not justifiable.
Re:People Still Use Cable? (Score:5, Insightful)
So you ask a really dumb question in the subject and then you preface the message by listing basically all the things that people traditionally use the service for as something you don't care about.
Why do people do that? It's great you have no use for the service but your needs are not the needs of everyone.
People still use barbers? Don't care about fancy shampoos and conditioners. Don't care about different hairstyles. Cut my own hair in front of the mirror. At that point, barbers very quickly become pointless... etc.