I initially thought Netflix wouldn't make it unless they spent heavily on original content. I have been proven right.
I think Netflix offers the best content, far better than any other streaming platform and also HBO or Showtime.
What I really like about Netflix is their commitment to licensing and commissioning content from over seas. Having lived on three continents and traveled the world extensively there's a lot of original storytelling out there that is in the must watch category.
I'd like to recommend two shows from Australia that are just terrific, Rake and Offspring. Rake is hilarious and Offspring is just so funny and life affirming.
For the record, I met Mark Randolph briefly years ago before a meeting with a company he had backed. He's a gentleman, quite rare in Silicon Valley.
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I appreciate Randolph's comment at the end referencing Hawaii. The theoretical allure of a situation or a place is hardly ever aligned with the reality one encounters through experience.
7
Netflix is just HBO without cable subscriptions. I used to feel Netflix was the best. Even living in trendy Brooklyn, the dvd on demand allowed access to obscure films that would otherwise be impossible to find. I went over to streaming early, and remained satisfied, for a time, with their immense selection. But as other players entered the market, it’s become increasingly necessary to subscribe to 3 or 4 services to get access to most films. And you’ll still need to pay per view here and there. Finding content is often a frustrating search through services. Ultimately, they landed on the HBO model, but online only — outstanding original content gets people to come, and a large number of films keeps them. Nothing new, nothing special. I’d go back to the DVD version, if I still had a DVD player.
2
I did buy Netflix shares early on as I recognized it as a great business, one I would enthusiastically use. I recently discontinued their DVD service and only subscribe to streaming now. Here is the reason why: other streaming services have superior content, even better than Netflix. Amazon Prime also allows subscription access using the same format to HBO, Acorn, PBS Masterpiece and others. Their Masterpiece has different shows than my local PBS which I also stream. I also watch Britbox, Showtime and CBS All Access, but unsubscribe when they offer nothing interesting and re-subscribe when my favorites return. I found I was keeping the DVDs forever because I had no time to watch them.
I think the DVD subscription business will die off eventually and Netflix will move to an all-streaming business.
1
When Netflix went global I immediately subscribed. Their Thai sub-titles mean that my wife and I can enjoy the same films and series together.
While the selection is more limited than for subscribers in the US, it is still a treasure.
However, in the future, the ultimate option will be a pay-per-view for any movie or series you choose. Probably not in my lifetime, though.
1
Think we are hitting the peak of Netflix popularity now will a list of other streaming services about to launch at competitive pricing.
They do produce a lot of original content so hopefully new services like Apple and Disney can keep up. Competition is great for the consumer.
3
I spent my career in the entertainment software business, and I used to sell movies to Netflix back in the day. Great people, and obviously way more visionary than the studios who licensed their catalog to Netflix and helped them get enough subscribers to market their own original content to. Brilliant stuff, and courageous at the time. Imagine taking on Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, et al with their combined 10000 stores, and through the mail no less...
I always remember leaving their offices in LA shaking my head knowing I was witnessing remarkable business creativity. Now they have a new set of challenges because they trained consumers to subscribe for content to the point they will be tempted to do the same with Disney, Warner, Fox, Universal,. Etc content. As the saying goes, "content is King.". My guess is the market will fragment and Netflix will eventually be in a pickle with the cost of quality content going to the highest bidder. Will be interesting to watch. Maybe Netflix will even make a series about it someday.
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Very interesting view into a powerhouse company and its humble origins. Like Steve Jobs, these people are first and foremost marketers.
5
I regularly travel all over the world via Netflix. I'm hooked on high quality, highly intelligent mostly foreign films, TV series, and documentaries. Against the Trump headlines and his administration's retrograde cruelty, these nightly escapes provide inspiration that individuals with life-serving ideas and energy make a difference. Thank you, Netflix.
7
Netflix is fiscally registered in the EU, in Europe and cheats to pay zero taxes there .
netflix has become very bad as there are only mainstream films to watch by streaming except with the DVD program .
No European films.
Netflix does not even have one Fellini or Pasolini film not speaking of less known film makers .
And the new releases are completely void of new European films.
3
A wonderful profile - courtesy of a book review.
America needs more men like him who realize what they are good at.
But more importantly, what they are not good at.
I worked over 4 decades in the oil patch.
Didn't meet many folks like him - though a couple of my bosses could qualify. All because, they knew my capabilities and left me alone.
12
I like the Netflix platform. Far superior to Hulu's.
3
Yes. I'm STILL waiting for Hulu to figure out downloads to (say) an iPad. They announced it was coming YEARS ago and the feature still hasn't arrived.
1
I can remember the first (I believe) Netflix office in Los Gatos, CA, off Winchester Blvd. There were a handful of employees and several would frequent our local Irish pub.
I hated driving down to rent DVDs and later, CDs and was one of their early rental customers. I still subscribe to the disk and streaming service.
You should see their offices now in Los Gatos-it looks like the Facebook complex. No, bigger.
Every year there are articles in the business sections of the big three US papers about the imminent demise if Netflix...sure. Like another commenter, I wish I had bought some of those first shares.
My only negative regarding the corporation is that they should have changed that logo years ago. Too late now.
Oh well, the new white background is an improvement.
4
Randolph was my neighbor and a very good Democrat...
16
I m committed for life to Netflix and have been since I first heard about the service way back when..... Having the unrestricted ease of daily accessing aged foreign films of fabulous quality for $17. month intrigues me more than seeing one "door buster"movie the day of release for a one time charge of $20.xx! I miss no dialogue when actors mumble. I can watch in my nighty. My dog can sit on my lap in the recliner. My snacks are fresh and free. My entertainment is hand delivered to my door with no need to tip the driver. I can binge watch a season release until my eyeballs fall out. My only regret....? I never had the foresight to buy 100 shares of Netflix when it came on the market.
19
I haven't yet figured out why people are preferring streaming over ordering DVDs especially when you can stream only 5,000 titles whereas a whopping 80,000 titles are available to rent in DVDs - guess the younger generation doesn't like to spend 15 minutes to plan ahead and fill up a "queue" with movies to watch. By watching only "current" movies that others are watching, streamers may be missing out on exploring different cultures / foreign films especially the critics picks available on DVDs.
I used to live in NYC and never went a day without at least one DVD being by my side - how I miss those days in Toronto, Canada, where, unfortunately, the DVDs are not available.
27
@Andy Me too. I love the depth of the DVD collection and that is the most important to me. However, I wish their original programming had wider availability on DVD. I don't need to see it "now" but would like to see it in a year.
7
@Andy I miss the old Netflix where you could find the most obscure, old, foreign film. Later, the selection was so limited, I gave up. To this day, I don't think any of the subscription services are as good. In fact, I use the library which can often do interlibrary loaning to get what I want without spending much or at all. Most services seem to cater more to the mainstream watcher rather than cinephiles.
13
When the Netflix red envelope service started I thought it was the best business idea ever and I still do. Sure you rent the movie, you can hold onto it as long as you want, but you don’t get another one until it is returned. In a time of outrageous late fees and high rentals, it was a brilliant idea and I’m glad it continued to become a profitable streaming service when no one else was streaming!! Good going!!
24
If Netflix is focused on what its customers want, why does it still have auto previews turn on with no way to turn them off!
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@Lego You need a new DVD player to bypass the auto previews. They are sometimes quite helpful though.
5
@Lego
Yes. That is infuriating. I would also like to be able to automatically skip the opening credits on recurring series without always having to click the "Skip Intro" button.
2
It's refreshing to see very successful businesspeople say they are not perfect and speak with less than comically inflated egos.
Maybe Mr. Randolph could coach political types on how to achieve this modesty?
50
I think a lot of people forget that Netflix mail delivery is still available and still profitable. And most likely it will still be around when Netflix streaming is no longer in business.
20
@Darin Hmm. I don't think I know anyone who still owns a DVD player.
4
@200F You don't know anyone with an Xbox of PlayStation?
2
@200F My kids will have to pry my DVD player ( the new one!) out of my dead cold hands. I'm taking it and my Netflix subscription with me when I go.
18
I do remember the old days of Netflix and CDs in red envelopes. I was an early adopter tired of the video stores and their antiquated business model.
I lived in NYC and the red envelopes would not fit in the standard NYC apartment mailbox. As a result, the mailman would leave my Netflix red envelope on a table in the mail room. And, invariably, someone would take them before I could get there.
I ended up having to call Netflix to cancel my subscription because I became embarrassed at the number of times I had to report the missing red envelopes.
I rejoined Netflix as soon as their streaming services began and I never looked back.
16