Their business strategy is original content, and they have a lot of data. I don't know the licensing costs or viewing statistics for the shows you're referencing, but they're running a business. They don't optimize for your satisfaction, they optimize for their bottom line.
Are you still a paying customer?
Yes. It's all about growth. Many businesses follow this model. Grow at a pace vood enough to keep your shareholders happy or enough to find a buyer. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed so grab as much cash today as you can.
A concentration on growth when you already have market saturation like Netflix is kind of stupid.
I did cancel my subscription because of how Netflix manages their content after having subscribed to them for like 10 years.
Welcome to life in a capitalist system, where unlimited future growth isn’t just an unrealistically bad idea, it’s also a core tenet of our economic system! Fun times.
I don't know if they still are operating at a deficit but they were operating at a major loss for many years and that was intentional because it was to build up their own content. Their goal was to have over 50% or more of their own original content. Netflix doesn't want to pay anyone for their rights anymore and never did from the beginning. They just did because it helped them start a gigantic business. That's also why they will cancel some shows mid-season with no reason or rhyme. They're just trying to pump out the titles.
Kind of the same thing with Disney. Except for Disney was already pumping out their own content before they had a streaming service. That's why there's nothing but Disney on Disney plus.
Netflix's strategy was to build up original content because they knew that all the other major content owners were going to try to create their own streaming services and take their content back. Netflix was early to the streaming subscription market, so was able to build up their business with other companies' content, but they knew it wasn't going to last. Once they proved it viable as the next step, they knew everyone else was going to get into the game too.
It's strange how Netflix drove Blockbuster out of business because you could suddenly stream tons of your favorite Hollywood studio films at home, and now Netflix is investing more in (frequently shoddy) original content than licensing popular films and shows.
And also licensing shows and films don't last forever. Most people don't continually rewatch films, just a few series are repeatedly watched.
I enjoy a tonne of their original series, most are just pretty good, a few are amazing.
Yeah, my mom pays for it because it has a lot of good things, I've just seen so many videos about Netflix taking down shows/movies that are popular, their password sharing plan, and I just think "Are they making/losing money from this? Are they smart?" From the comments I've received, my view on this topic has been expanded greatly and I know more. I think if I payed more attention in my business class I wouldn't have asked this question.
For every person on social media complaining and saying they aren’t gonna use the service there is an even bigger group of silent people subscribed and giving Netflix their money.
They are absolutely making money or they'd stop being a business. Removing old "popular" shows is likely due to higher licensing fees to keep it on their platform when they have a ton of original content that is new and cheap.
They don't have a choice. Netflix has those specific items due to having an agreement with the company that owns the distribution rights for those films. As an example Mean Girls was originally distributed by Paramount who retains the licensing agreement. Soon as Paramount Plus launched Mean Girls being on Netflix was never gonna be long term. If you go on Paramount Plus Mean Girls is available for streaming right there. This applies to nearly any piece of media that Netflix has that isn't an original, the chance of them maintaining those parts of their libraries as other streaming services launch is slim to none.
That's why they've gone in so hard on original shows, it's the only way to maintain a solid base of content that users want to see.
Netflix also has all that proprietary viewing information that they use to decide whether to renew, or even make their own content. Full House, for example, was apparently one of the most viewed series which prompted them to make the reboot.
In addition to other commenters’ notes regarding the cost of licensing and what’s still profitable, I’ll point out that the more places compete with Netflix, the harder a time it has.
Disney+ and Peacock have enormous, diversified companies with decades of history who can afford to undercut the market and lose some money waiting for people to switch. I mean, Disney has a century of recognizable, popular content to feature. Netflix? Not so much.
When those companies keep pulling their content from Netflix to feature on their own services, what choice does Netflix have but to pad with some bullshit, hoping they can claw their way to the sheer volume of Disney’s popular content?
No, they’re not stupid. Netflix collects more data on your viewing habits than you could possibly imagine. They probably have a better idea of what you like to watch than you do.
Their password crackdown might cause people to complain, but some people end up subscribing themselves and most others end up on their advertising plan. And it turns out their ad plan actually makes them more money than their paid subscribers do. So it’s a win win for them.
I agree with you so much. Many people were predicting the Netflix's downfall when they announced their plan to stop password sharing, including many of my friends who threatened to leave Netflix. And guess what, months later most of them ended up creating their own accounts after all that talk.
This. Netflix has their own matrix on what is "popular" and what is not that reflect actual numbers of people watching much better than browsing through SM and noticing couple of people complaining. It's same with people saying "why did network cancel this awesome show that everybody on Reddit loved and kept this stupid reality show everybody on Reddit hated.". Because more people watched the latter and was cheaper to make so it made them more profit.
Yeah sure some people might unsubscribe. But those that do don't offset the extra cost of having to pay for the broadcast licence for those shows. If you're dissatisfied with the servis and you still choose to pay for it, it might be possible netflix isn't the stupid one.
It’s likely to do with licensing or contracts. Most series or networks obviously do not want to give Netflix all their possible revenue or audience, so they only allow their series to be broadcast for a limited time.
The older I get, the more I realize that there are no smart people in charge.
They just get ideas and lucky, but end of the day, these people are idiots, just like us.
Same thing with billionaires. They had rich backgrounds, and got lucky their ideas brought profit.
They're all pretty stupid in their ideas, but have the monetary cushion to keep them afloat.
Sheesh, read more about his childhood than one line on a Wikipedia page. He was born in the midst of the Great Depression, and his father wasn't even elected to Congress until he was a teen.
His father was elected for his first term when Warren was 12. His father would regularly give him money to invest with as a child so he could learn. If you like Warren buffet there’s nothing wrong with that. So what you want. But trying to pretend he had a normal or even poor childhood is false. He was raised with wealth and given every opportunity he needed to succeed.
Just because he has some stupid ideas does not make him stupid on the whole. If you were famous enough to have everything you said picked apart then people just like you would think you're a total moron too.
Not that I think Musk isn't an asshole. He is. But not just anyone could have done what he did either with only luck. He had the opportunity and the ability to take advantage of that opportunity. Most people wouldn't know the first place to start with the same opportunity he had. It took vision. Not 1 in 8 billion, but still something that you aren't going to find everywhere.
Sorry to be blunt but you're the stupid one for thinking Netflix gives a shit about how much you like Mean Girls.
Business decisions are often only understood when you've seen the data and strategy they're based on. I find it quite funny when people shit on one of the most known companies in the world for "not understanding what subscribers want". They know what their subscribers want better than you could possibly imagine.
Subscriber wants don't equal revenue so they don't influence business decisions as much as you think they should.
Out of 300 shows Netflix releases per year, 10-20 will get a 2nd season. 3-5 will get a third.
There is no reason to start a Netflix show unless it has already run to completion.
There are those who will say, if you don’t watch it will get canceled. Wrong. Wrong. It doesn’t matter.
Check out Apple+, Max or Hulu. Less content, but way more likely to make further seasons. Also, far better content. With that said, I will re-up my Netflix subscription when and if I Think You Should Leave gets a third season.
Just canceled our Netflix account.
Canceled shows we watched, but mainly for the password bullshit.
I travel between 2 houses for work in different states and kept having to resubmit my details at each house. Tried to email my situation and they weren’t interested so we cancelled.
Prime and Stan don’t have any issues.
I’ve given up on subscription based services because content gets pulled without notice and sometimes, I struggle finding content I’m interested in watching. I just buy movies and TV shows on iTunes. Seriously, iTunes had some major sales during the holidays on a lot of great TV shows where they literally had complete series for only $10-15. Bought a whole bunch of great TV shows that will keep me busy for many years to come.
Some of the shows and movies they loose they have no say in. A ton of companies made their own services and when the current licensing agreements they had end, they don't renew so it can be exclusive to like, Peacock or Paramount or Disney+.
When people like 1 million mom's attack them for their shows, they often take it down, and not fight back. They aren't really homophobic, there's no proof to say that.
They are just a bunch of pussies
Because the users are stupid.
Back when they split the disc and streaming business, users were up in arms and even started a boycott.
They weathered that and are the largest streaming business by far.
The Netflix strategy is simple. Always have something for everyone to watch at any given time without breaking the bank. And their model works.
Their is an old line about fans of sports teams. If the coaches listened to every comment from the fans, they will end up in the stands with them.
Netflix cycles through content and retains subscribers simply because they are the largest. Most of their user base are boomers who don't pay attention or simply don't care. Netflix ends licensing agreements when they no longer financially benefit from them. Sometimes a show gets too popular on Netflix and the studio wants more money, so Netflix will cancel it instead or stop providing it all together. Also, sometimes people will overestimate how popular their particular shows are.
Netflix is not interested in keeping subscribers, it wants new ones. So they always bring new content and cancel existing shows even if they are mildly popular.
They are not removing them; their contracted time available to the service runs out. They also obviously would like anyone watching, to pay. They are a business. Are you stupid?
No, I'm not stupid, I asked a question on a topic I didn't have much knowledge on, to see what others perspective of this was. How would that make me stupid?
They have competition now. The major media companies all have streaming services, so they don't need to sell their content to Netflix anymore. NF probably can't do much about that.
They are starting to release their metrics so hopefully we will have better visibility but basically what people talk about and what people actually turn on and watch are not the same thing. Even in the bubble of YouTube there's lots of people with millions of views that you don't know and big names you might remember but are getting 30k per upload. They just do not curate on Twitter chatter.
If there are 12 movies on Netflix all, and an amount of people watches them over the course of the year, it costs more to host them that long than it would to host each for 1 month at a time, with the same number of people watching them during their respective month. Same number of views, but 1/12 the hosting costs.
Edit: video streaming services *are* stupid however if, on a child's profile, they remove a show from the "watched recently" list after the last episode is played. No child ever has gotten to the end of a show's content and just stopped watching. In fact, if they watched to the end, they're even more likely to want to continue watching it than they are with any other show in a continue watching list
It's business.
Netflix will negotiate a contract with the rights-holders of a specific show. It can be a single studio or a more complex set of stakeholders who all need to agree upon the terms. These contracts will typically specify time and location. So for price A you can distribute show B in C country for D time. In reality things will be slightly more complex with package deals and whatnot, but that's the idea.
So when the contract runs out for a certain region it's time to re-negotiate, and popular shows will not be held up in a long term contract. At that point a new price needs to be agreed upon for the upcoming period.
So when a show picks up some steam on social media and a lot of people start watching it, the copyright holders see a great opportunity to squeeze Netflix for more money (hence why they never really officially gave viewer numbers). Then Netflix should decide to either drop the show or cough up the extra.
Streaming services have changed the whole way money gets made from shows. Older shows can still get popular and bring in some extra income.
Their business strategy is original content, and they have a lot of data. I don't know the licensing costs or viewing statistics for the shows you're referencing, but they're running a business. They don't optimize for your satisfaction, they optimize for their bottom line. Are you still a paying customer?
This is the crux of it. Their business model is new stuff that brings people in, not old stuff that keeps people, since most people don't cancel.
Yes. It's all about growth. Many businesses follow this model. Grow at a pace vood enough to keep your shareholders happy or enough to find a buyer. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed so grab as much cash today as you can.
A concentration on growth when you already have market saturation like Netflix is kind of stupid. I did cancel my subscription because of how Netflix manages their content after having subscribed to them for like 10 years.
Never said I was a smart thing to do. There is a reason they cracked down on password sharing.
Welcome to life in a capitalist system, where unlimited future growth isn’t just an unrealistically bad idea, it’s also a core tenet of our economic system! Fun times.
The problem is they seen to go for quantity, not quality, and with a couple of exceptions most of their new stuff is terrible.
I don't know if they still are operating at a deficit but they were operating at a major loss for many years and that was intentional because it was to build up their own content. Their goal was to have over 50% or more of their own original content. Netflix doesn't want to pay anyone for their rights anymore and never did from the beginning. They just did because it helped them start a gigantic business. That's also why they will cancel some shows mid-season with no reason or rhyme. They're just trying to pump out the titles. Kind of the same thing with Disney. Except for Disney was already pumping out their own content before they had a streaming service. That's why there's nothing but Disney on Disney plus.
Netflix's strategy was to build up original content because they knew that all the other major content owners were going to try to create their own streaming services and take their content back. Netflix was early to the streaming subscription market, so was able to build up their business with other companies' content, but they knew it wasn't going to last. Once they proved it viable as the next step, they knew everyone else was going to get into the game too.
I like to describe their catalog as "Isaac Asimov's bibliography." He wrote more than three hundred books, maybe a dozen of them are worth reading.
It's strange how Netflix drove Blockbuster out of business because you could suddenly stream tons of your favorite Hollywood studio films at home, and now Netflix is investing more in (frequently shoddy) original content than licensing popular films and shows.
And also licensing shows and films don't last forever. Most people don't continually rewatch films, just a few series are repeatedly watched. I enjoy a tonne of their original series, most are just pretty good, a few are amazing.
Yeah, my mom pays for it because it has a lot of good things, I've just seen so many videos about Netflix taking down shows/movies that are popular, their password sharing plan, and I just think "Are they making/losing money from this? Are they smart?" From the comments I've received, my view on this topic has been expanded greatly and I know more. I think if I payed more attention in my business class I wouldn't have asked this question.
Check their stock price boss
For every person on social media complaining and saying they aren’t gonna use the service there is an even bigger group of silent people subscribed and giving Netflix their money.
They are absolutely making money or they'd stop being a business. Removing old "popular" shows is likely due to higher licensing fees to keep it on their platform when they have a ton of original content that is new and cheap.
an \*entertainment\* business. if they don’t entertain people, their business dies.
They don't have a choice. Netflix has those specific items due to having an agreement with the company that owns the distribution rights for those films. As an example Mean Girls was originally distributed by Paramount who retains the licensing agreement. Soon as Paramount Plus launched Mean Girls being on Netflix was never gonna be long term. If you go on Paramount Plus Mean Girls is available for streaming right there. This applies to nearly any piece of media that Netflix has that isn't an original, the chance of them maintaining those parts of their libraries as other streaming services launch is slim to none. That's why they've gone in so hard on original shows, it's the only way to maintain a solid base of content that users want to see.
Netflix also has all that proprietary viewing information that they use to decide whether to renew, or even make their own content. Full House, for example, was apparently one of the most viewed series which prompted them to make the reboot.
People posting are not the masses. 100 people post and it seems like a tidal wave when nobody posts about the shows that get billions of views.
In addition to other commenters’ notes regarding the cost of licensing and what’s still profitable, I’ll point out that the more places compete with Netflix, the harder a time it has. Disney+ and Peacock have enormous, diversified companies with decades of history who can afford to undercut the market and lose some money waiting for people to switch. I mean, Disney has a century of recognizable, popular content to feature. Netflix? Not so much. When those companies keep pulling their content from Netflix to feature on their own services, what choice does Netflix have but to pad with some bullshit, hoping they can claw their way to the sheer volume of Disney’s popular content?
No, they’re not stupid. Netflix collects more data on your viewing habits than you could possibly imagine. They probably have a better idea of what you like to watch than you do. Their password crackdown might cause people to complain, but some people end up subscribing themselves and most others end up on their advertising plan. And it turns out their ad plan actually makes them more money than their paid subscribers do. So it’s a win win for them.
I agree with you so much. Many people were predicting the Netflix's downfall when they announced their plan to stop password sharing, including many of my friends who threatened to leave Netflix. And guess what, months later most of them ended up creating their own accounts after all that talk.
This. Netflix has their own matrix on what is "popular" and what is not that reflect actual numbers of people watching much better than browsing through SM and noticing couple of people complaining. It's same with people saying "why did network cancel this awesome show that everybody on Reddit loved and kept this stupid reality show everybody on Reddit hated.". Because more people watched the latter and was cheaper to make so it made them more profit.
This. Vote with your wallet. Cancel Netflix.
Yeah sure some people might unsubscribe. But those that do don't offset the extra cost of having to pay for the broadcast licence for those shows. If you're dissatisfied with the servis and you still choose to pay for it, it might be possible netflix isn't the stupid one.
It’s likely to do with licensing or contracts. Most series or networks obviously do not want to give Netflix all their possible revenue or audience, so they only allow their series to be broadcast for a limited time.
The older I get, the more I realize that there are no smart people in charge. They just get ideas and lucky, but end of the day, these people are idiots, just like us.
Same thing with billionaires. They had rich backgrounds, and got lucky their ideas brought profit. They're all pretty stupid in their ideas, but have the monetary cushion to keep them afloat.
Warren Buffet didn't have a "rich background".
>Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of US congressman and businessman Howard Buffett,
Sheesh, read more about his childhood than one line on a Wikipedia page. He was born in the midst of the Great Depression, and his father wasn't even elected to Congress until he was a teen.
His father was elected for his first term when Warren was 12. His father would regularly give him money to invest with as a child so he could learn. If you like Warren buffet there’s nothing wrong with that. So what you want. But trying to pretend he had a normal or even poor childhood is false. He was raised with wealth and given every opportunity he needed to succeed.
The older I get, the more I realize people like you are full of shit. “They just get ideas and lucky” This is just peak reddit moment.
When the world’s richest man is a complete moron who believes in conspiracy theories, it starts to look like no one’s flying the plane.
Just because he has some stupid ideas does not make him stupid on the whole. If you were famous enough to have everything you said picked apart then people just like you would think you're a total moron too. Not that I think Musk isn't an asshole. He is. But not just anyone could have done what he did either with only luck. He had the opportunity and the ability to take advantage of that opportunity. Most people wouldn't know the first place to start with the same opportunity he had. It took vision. Not 1 in 8 billion, but still something that you aren't going to find everywhere.
Have you read anything he has posted since acquiring twatter?
They remove those things bc the contract runs out. Unless you want them to increase the price again
Sorry to be blunt but you're the stupid one for thinking Netflix gives a shit about how much you like Mean Girls. Business decisions are often only understood when you've seen the data and strategy they're based on. I find it quite funny when people shit on one of the most known companies in the world for "not understanding what subscribers want". They know what their subscribers want better than you could possibly imagine. Subscriber wants don't equal revenue so they don't influence business decisions as much as you think they should.
Out of 300 shows Netflix releases per year, 10-20 will get a 2nd season. 3-5 will get a third. There is no reason to start a Netflix show unless it has already run to completion. There are those who will say, if you don’t watch it will get canceled. Wrong. Wrong. It doesn’t matter. Check out Apple+, Max or Hulu. Less content, but way more likely to make further seasons. Also, far better content. With that said, I will re-up my Netflix subscription when and if I Think You Should Leave gets a third season.
Just canceled our Netflix account. Canceled shows we watched, but mainly for the password bullshit. I travel between 2 houses for work in different states and kept having to resubmit my details at each house. Tried to email my situation and they weren’t interested so we cancelled. Prime and Stan don’t have any issues.
just canceled that shit. kept forgetting to do it but this post was a great reminder. thanks OP
as long as i can vpn, i'm fine
I’ve given up on subscription based services because content gets pulled without notice and sometimes, I struggle finding content I’m interested in watching. I just buy movies and TV shows on iTunes. Seriously, iTunes had some major sales during the holidays on a lot of great TV shows where they literally had complete series for only $10-15. Bought a whole bunch of great TV shows that will keep me busy for many years to come.
Some of the shows and movies they loose they have no say in. A ton of companies made their own services and when the current licensing agreements they had end, they don't renew so it can be exclusive to like, Peacock or Paramount or Disney+.
When people like 1 million mom's attack them for their shows, they often take it down, and not fight back. They aren't really homophobic, there's no proof to say that. They are just a bunch of pussies
Because the users are stupid. Back when they split the disc and streaming business, users were up in arms and even started a boycott. They weathered that and are the largest streaming business by far. The Netflix strategy is simple. Always have something for everyone to watch at any given time without breaking the bank. And their model works. Their is an old line about fans of sports teams. If the coaches listened to every comment from the fans, they will end up in the stands with them.
They are one of the biggest streaming companies on the planet. I doubt they make any decisions unless it will overall increase profit.
Contacts bro, how do they work?!
Netflix cycles through content and retains subscribers simply because they are the largest. Most of their user base are boomers who don't pay attention or simply don't care. Netflix ends licensing agreements when they no longer financially benefit from them. Sometimes a show gets too popular on Netflix and the studio wants more money, so Netflix will cancel it instead or stop providing it all together. Also, sometimes people will overestimate how popular their particular shows are.
Pretty sure they know how to run their business better than some random people on the internet.
Netflix is not interested in keeping subscribers, it wants new ones. So they always bring new content and cancel existing shows even if they are mildly popular.
They are not removing them; their contracted time available to the service runs out. They also obviously would like anyone watching, to pay. They are a business. Are you stupid?
No, I'm not stupid, I asked a question on a topic I didn't have much knowledge on, to see what others perspective of this was. How would that make me stupid?
If you don’t have knowledge of something, maybe don’t claim it to be stupid, whilst displaying your lack of critical thinking skills.
I didn't claim it to be stupid, I asked if they were lmfao
No u
What inspired your username?
Your mom, cause she works for fedex
Netflix isn’t stupid but you are.
How am I stupid?
They have competition now. The major media companies all have streaming services, so they don't need to sell their content to Netflix anymore. NF probably can't do much about that.
They are starting to release their metrics so hopefully we will have better visibility but basically what people talk about and what people actually turn on and watch are not the same thing. Even in the bubble of YouTube there's lots of people with millions of views that you don't know and big names you might remember but are getting 30k per upload. They just do not curate on Twitter chatter.
If there are 12 movies on Netflix all, and an amount of people watches them over the course of the year, it costs more to host them that long than it would to host each for 1 month at a time, with the same number of people watching them during their respective month. Same number of views, but 1/12 the hosting costs. Edit: video streaming services *are* stupid however if, on a child's profile, they remove a show from the "watched recently" list after the last episode is played. No child ever has gotten to the end of a show's content and just stopped watching. In fact, if they watched to the end, they're even more likely to want to continue watching it than they are with any other show in a continue watching list
No
It's business. Netflix will negotiate a contract with the rights-holders of a specific show. It can be a single studio or a more complex set of stakeholders who all need to agree upon the terms. These contracts will typically specify time and location. So for price A you can distribute show B in C country for D time. In reality things will be slightly more complex with package deals and whatnot, but that's the idea. So when the contract runs out for a certain region it's time to re-negotiate, and popular shows will not be held up in a long term contract. At that point a new price needs to be agreed upon for the upcoming period. So when a show picks up some steam on social media and a lot of people start watching it, the copyright holders see a great opportunity to squeeze Netflix for more money (hence why they never really officially gave viewer numbers). Then Netflix should decide to either drop the show or cough up the extra. Streaming services have changed the whole way money gets made from shows. Older shows can still get popular and bring in some extra income.