Streaming Services (business / market / service, not content-focused)

[DireWolfSpirit]

5 hours ago, Zorral said:

How are you not paying for any of it? Is it because you're a student (here universities and colleges have supplied a great deal of internet access).

Other people in the family cover that side of the ledger and I think theres account sharing involved. My involvement extends to picking a profile icon and operating the remote

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

10 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Other people in the family cover that side of the ledger and I think theres account sharing involved. My involvement extends to picking a profile icon and operating the remote

Dosent work for Netflix anymore sadly

[DireWolfSpirit]

3 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Dosent work for Netflix anymore sadly

Netflix I have again after being without when they cracked down on the account sharing, so im thinking someone else mustve resumed paying for an account here. Honestly i dont ask and dont want to be involved. I pay the house note and gas/electric and leave internet and streaming for others.

All im sure of is ive never had so many viewing options as current, so im kind of ready for the imminent, long Wisconsin winter that'll be here too soon.

[BigFatCoward]

How can I share netflix on 2 phones so my kids can watch TV in the car wothout headphones? I can't work it out but there must be a way. 

[Myrddin]

Just remind them that back in your day, you were forced to watch the same show as your siblings. And you didn't even have a tv in the car! Unless it was a dvd player in mom's minivan.

If they can't share, they can stare out the window or play "watch my hand fly" against the moving scenery outside the window. Teach them some character!

 

  (in case my jokes aren't obvious enough)

[Rhom]

8 hours ago, Myrddin said:

Just remind them that back in your day, you were forced to watch the same show as your siblings. And you didn't even have a tv in the car! Unless it was a dvd player in mom's minivan.

If they can't share, they can stare out the window or play "watch my hand fly" against the moving scenery outside the window. Teach them some character!

 

  (in case my jokes aren't obvious enough)

Minivan???  I rode backwards in a station wagon… and I liked it!

[Heartofice]

I got an email last night from Disney + informing me about new terms of service that will include a lot of detail around the new plans they are creating. There will definitely be a plan that includes advertisements and I assume the standard plan will jump up in price accordingly. 

This will push me over the edge and make me cancel my subscription I think. It's hard to justify it right now, there is almost no new content and hasn't been for months, outside of the occasional marvel or SW shows (that I almost always don't like). D+ is even lumped in with Starz and so should theoretically have other watchable tv shows and movies but it's almost all trash. It's a sad descent for the platform that I think after a rocky start looked like it might be worth keeping. 

 

[SpaceChampion]

Disney to Buy Full Control of Hulu in Deal With Comcast

 

[Myrddin]

9 hours ago, SpaceChampion said:

Disney to Buy Full Control of Hulu in Deal With Comcast

 

Question is: will they merge Disney+ with Hulu or keep them separate?

I can see them doing either. Bolster D+'s weak catalog of new shows (they obviously have strong existing library) with Hulu to justify the rising subscription price. Or hope that households will double dip for both, or pay for a "discounted" bundle price with ESPN.  

[Zorral]

Authoritarians are all the same, which includes strict censorship of anything in the media and entertainment that could be considered even potentially a criticism of their corruption and authoritarianism (and never fool ourselves; corruption goes hand-in-hand with authoritarian, totalitarian, racist, sexist, misogynist politicians and governments, along with intolerance, repression of history, exploitation, cruelty, and violence of every kind).  Compare and contrast the content of the linked article with the history of the film industry and media in proto and nazi Germany, for instance. Like Netflix and amazon, US Hollywood went along with it in order to keep the German market -- at least until the US joined the war.  Then all the propaganda etc. was for our domestic market.

I've read, btw, that Modi and his people and their party essentially emerged out of organized criminal gangs.  I don't know that for sure -- others, who are physically closer to these developments would know better, so can correct if this is wrong -- though, again, from what I've read over time in various places, organized gangs have taken over various regions of  Bharat (preferred designation in Hindi, for 'India'), like they have in Mexico too, for instance.  I do know these are facts about Mexico, to which I am both geographically and personally closer, in terms of both place and people.

The WaPo caption, btw, is ridiculous, so I'm not showing it.  Instead of 'daring', one of the words that would better describe this massive propaganda/censorship backed by Modi and his gangs, as 'criticism' or 'reality'.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/20/india-netflix-amazon-movies-self-censorship/

Quote

 

.... In an interview, Solanki described the existence of “hundreds” of WhatsApp and Facebook groups where Hindu nationalists like himself had gathered to discuss how to apply pressure on streaming platforms. The groups’ members were scattered worldwide, he recalled, and offered financial and legal aid to those who volunteered to file complaints against the foreign companies.

“They were always criticizing Bharat and the people of Bharat, always criticizing the army, always making shows that were negative,” Solanki said. “They were not good for the image of India abroad.”

After the successful “Tandav” campaign, Solanki said, he was flooded with congratulatory messages from BJP leaders and, last year, became a party member himself. Prime Video and Netflix have learned their lesson, Solanki said: “They are aware: If we do any mischief, if we cross the line, we will face the music.” ....

.... One director who has worked with Netflix and Prime Video said streaming companies didn’t just fear antagonizing the Modi government. They were even more concerned about its right-wing supporters, who might launch mass campaigns calling for boycotts and arrests. “What the government has done very smartly is they effectively say, ‘You self-censor stuff,’” the director said. “There is a gun to your head because at any point of time, it’s so easy to mobilize a bunch of people.”

Concerns about self-censorship and revisionism are also surfacing elsewhere. A member of a team that made a podcast for Spotify about the history of India’s space program said executives asked to review the script because it hailed the contributions of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who is often condemned by Hindu nationalists as being too conciliatory toward Muslims and Pakistan. Executives also seemed hesitant about giving credit to Tipu Sultan, an 18th-century Indian Muslim ruler who pioneered the use of rockets, but they ultimately did not push for changes.

“I was a bit shocked,” the team member recalled. “What is wrong with talking about them? These are facts recorded in history.” ....

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Zorral

[SpaceChampion]

A24's entire library is going on Max, HBO and Cinemax.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/6/23991039/a24-hbo-max-cinemax-deal-warner-bros-discovery

Edited December 8, 2023 by SpaceChampion

[Rhom]

1 minute ago, SpaceChampion said:

A24's entire library is going on Max.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/6/23991039/a24-hbo-max-cinemax-deal-warner-bros-discovery

What is A24?

[Consigliere]

8 hours ago, Rhom said:

What is A24?

It's in the article. The first paragraph:

Indie powerhouse A24 has a new home for its theatrical releases — both new and old. The production company has inked a multiyear exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring its entire slate of new releases to HBO, Max, and Cinemax after they leave theaters. On top of that, the two companies extended a licensing deal for its films that are already on HBO and Max — and will grow to include over 100 films in total, including The Whale, Uncut Gems, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and others.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Consigliere

[Heartofice]

8 hours ago, Rhom said:

What is A24?

A sign of quality..and long stretches of long ominous shots that go on too long

[Heartofice]

Netflix: Users spent 812 million hours watching The Night Agent

 

Quote

Users around the world watched The Night Agent for 812m hours, making the political thriller its most viewed show in the first half of this year.

 

I thought I'd check it out to see why this is so popular.

Beats me, it appears to be flat out garbage.

[Zorral]

In Search of Cash, Studios Send Old Shows Back to Netflix
When building their own streaming companies, many entertainment studios ended lucrative licensing deals with Netflix. But they missed the money too much

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/business/media/netflix-licensed-shows.html

Quote

 

... around five years ago, executives realized they were “selling nuclear weapons technology” to a powerful rival, as Disney’s chief executive, Robert A. Iger, put it. Studios needed those same beloved movies and shows for the streaming services they were building from scratch, and fueling Netflix’s rise was only hurting them. The content spigots were, in large part, turned off.

Then the harsh realities of streaming began to emerge.

Confronting sizable debt burdens and the fact that most streaming services still don’t make money, studios like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have begun to soften their do-not-sell-to-Netflix stances. The companies are still holding back their most popular content — movies from the Disney-owned Star Wars and Marvel universes and blockbuster original series like HBO’s “Game of Thrones” aren’t going anywhere — but dozens of other films like “Dune” and “Prometheus” and series like “Young Sheldon” are being sent to the streaming behemoth in return for much-needed cash. And Netflix is once again benefiting.

Ted Sarandos, one of Netflix’s co-chief executives, said at an investor conference last week that the “availability to license has opened up a lot more than it was in the past,” arguing that the studios’ earlier decision to hold back content was “unnatural.”

“They’ve always built the studios to license,” he said.

As David Decker, the content sales president for Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Licensing is becoming in vogue again. It never went away, but there’s more of a willingness to license things again. It generates money, and it gets content viewed and seen.”

In the coming months, Disney will start sending a number of shows from its catalog to Netflix, including “This Is Us,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Prison Break” and several editions of ESPN’s sports documentary series “30 for 30.” “White Collar,” a Disney-owned show that used to be part of the same lineup as “Suits” on the USA Network, will also join the service. (Old episodes of “Suits” have been one of Netflix’s biggest hits this year.) The popular 2000s-era ABC hit “Lost,” which left Netflix in 2018, is also returning next year.

Jeremy Zimmer, the chief executive of the United Talent Agency, said the studios’ about face was a “financial necessity.”

“They said, ‘Wow, in order for us to compete in streaming, it’s costing us billions to create new content to drive subscriptions,’” Mr. Zimmer said. “‘Where are we going to find the money? Oh! We have this stuff that’s been sitting here. We can sell that.’ It’s a very logical progression.” ....

 

 

[JGP]

On 12/14/2023 at 1:33 AM, Heartofice said:

Netflix: Users spent 812 million hours watching The Night Agent

 

I thought I'd check it out to see why this is so popular.

Beats me, it appears to be flat out garbage.

Ye, I have no idea either.

I peaced out before the first episode ended, never to return.

[Rhom]

Every year I forget about this.  We sat down to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on CBS via our YouTubeTV.

It starts into the opening credits and it goes black and says it isn’t available for streaming.

Looking into it, apparently the issue with the streaming rights isn’t even the show… it’s the song.  The original 1949 recording isn’t sorted out how to pay royalties.  At this rate, the song will go into the public domain before they can figure out the streaming rights.

[Iskaral Pust]

I currently have Netflix, Prime, HBO/Max, Disney+ (for my son to watch old seasons of The Simpsons during his school break) Hulu (for Fargo S5), Peacock (for PL soccer and rugby) and Starz.  We’ll keep them all active over the holidays but will definitely be shutting down a few of them shortly afterwards.  There just isn’t much worthwhile content on any of them.  BritBox, Acorn and Apple are the other streaming services we cycle in and out of.

Peacock has reduced their rugby coverage again.  A year ago they lost the European Cup, now they’ve lost the English PL rugby too.  All they have remaining is the Six Nations, the quadrennial World Cup and some 7s tournament.

[Ran]

Early days, but Axios has a scoop that David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery had a several-hours long meeting with Bob Bakish, CEO of Paramount Global, to discuss a possible merger. 

Very early days yet, and if it were to go forward, it'd likely encourage more consolidation in the industry.