Netflix Watch It Now - mother lode today

[Tavish]

The split was bound to happen sooner or later. Unless you think that getting DVDs by mail is the future of content delivery.

[wake]

Not only that but they're about to lose Starz movies as well. Starz provided a good chunk of Netflix's recent releases for the streaming service.

[The Artful Dodger]

The split was bound to happen sooner or later. Unless you think that getting DVDs by mail is the future of content delivery.

Streaming is definitely the future of content distribution. It still wasn't necessary for Netflix to split into two completely separate services though.

[Tavish]

The split was bound to happen sooner or later. Unless you think that getting DVDs by mail is the future of content delivery.

Streaming is definitely the future of content distribution. It still wasn't necessary for Netflix to split into two completely separate services though.

I don't pretend to know the inner-workings of the company or the costs of running the two divisions, but there could be several logical reasons for splitting the two services. The most obvious to me would be that they are going to look at to sell off one section. I would guess it would be the DVD service since they rebranded that division.

[The Artful Dodger]

The split was bound to happen sooner or later. Unless you think that getting DVDs by mail is the future of content delivery.

Streaming is definitely the future of content distribution. It still wasn't necessary for Netflix to split into two completely separate services though.

I don't pretend to know the inner-workings of the company or the costs of running the two divisions, but there could be several logical reasons for splitting the two services. The most obvious to me would be that they are going to look at to sell off one section. I would guess it would be the DVD service since they rebranded that division.

Could be. Netflix sells its Qwikster DVD business. In so doing, Netflix would have the funds to 1) buy the rights for more premium content to stream and 2) create its own original content.

[jfg]

Not only that but they're about to lose Starz movies as well. Starz provided a good chunk of Netflix's recent releases for the streaming service.

The Starz catalog is pretty pathetic in my opinion. The movies are good but the picture quality is terrible.

[The Artful Dodger]

Losing Starz was a fairly substantial blow for Netflix. Starz is probably trying to create its own exclusive service, having observed HBO Go's success. Granted, the content catalog isn't really interesting, let alone as good as HBO's programming, and Starz's content is only available for a limited time. Still, Starz comprises a significant portion of Netflix's new releases. Content is king and the newest content is generally what will be viewed most.

[Tavish]

Looks like Netflix has secured rights to Dreamworks Animation movies starting in 2013..... @ $30 million per movie. That is a very interesting price to say the least. Not sure how many of those types of deals the company can absorb, especially considering the Starz package was in the neighborhood of 300 million for the entire collection.

[The Artful Dodger]

Looks like Netflix has secured rights to Dreamworks Animation movies starting in 2013..... @ $30 million per movie. That is a very interesting price to say the least. Not sure how many of those types of deals the company can absorb, especially considering the Starz package was in the neighborhood of 300 million for the entire collection.

If I remembered right, Starz didn't just want Netflix to fork up the $300 million ballpark figure for their catalog. Starz also wanted the introduction of tiered pricing on its content. That apparently was the big sticking point as to why the Netflix-Starz negotiations hit a snag. To be fair, Starz might have been under pressure from Sony, Disney, etc. to demand additional charges or limit the range of movies available on Netflix.

As for the Dreamworks Animation deal, it appears Netflix would have to be aggressive in paying up for content, especially when the studios are reluctant and/or greedy. Putting things in perspective, HBO only paid $20 million per Dreamworks Animation film.

[Tavish]

If you guys haven't watched the IT Crowd, all the seasons are on Instant Watch. I think it's pretty funny... kind of a cross of the British Office and Big Bang Theory.

I didn't read the first couple of pages and only noticed this. Yes, IT Crowd is good, inconsistent but definitely has its moments. First season isn't that impressive (even if Chris Morris was cast as Denholm), but the next three seasons pick up well. The gay musical and the "Internet" episodes crack me up to no end. I try asking this at the local pub during soccer matches, and to my dismay, even the British expats don't follow along.

Season 4 was sort of a letdown, but there were some great episodes in seasons 2 and 3.