All that binge-watching at the swipe and a click of the mouse has proved successful for Netflix lately, as the company revealed yesterday in its letter to investors that it’s hit 29.3 million U.S. subscribers. Without even taking into account its trial customers, that’s a hop skip and jump over HBO’s last reported total of 28.7 million subscribers. Cord? What’s a cord? Something to be cut? [More]
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Netflix Could Be Coming Through Your Cable Box In The Near Future
By 10.15.13
Just about every story on cord-cutting over the last five years has mentioned Netflix, as consumers turned to the lower-cost streaming service instead of paying for hundreds of cable channels they weren’t watching. Now, some cable companies are realizing they might want to embrace Netflix by offering the streaming service directly through their set-top boxes. [More]
We Need More Customer Service Reps Like Capt. Mike Of The Good Ship Netflix
By 10.11.13
We’re always hearing complaints about robotic customer service reps who refuse to deviate from a script — this is especially true in chat support, where CSRs sometimes have an entire library of go-to cut-and-paste replies at the ready. So it’s refreshing when we come across a story about a CSR who is willing to shake things up by using a bit of humor while also doing his job. [More]
Hulu May Let You Pay More To Go Ad-Free
By 9.26.13
One of the biggest knocks against Hulu Plus is that, in spite of the $7.99 monthly subscription, users are still subjected to ads on most of the premium content. Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon Prime offer competing streaming services for about the same amount of money but without the annoying ad interruptions. The solution? Charge more for an ad-free tier! [More]
Netflix CFO Urges HBO To Offer Online Subscription Service
By 9.25.13
The TV-viewing public wants HBO Go without first having to pay for basic cable and HBO. Millions of people have signed petitions begging the company to offer such a service, and now the CFO of Netflix is asking why the premium network hasn’t offered an online subscription service yet. [More]
Netflix Wants To Know What Movies & Shows You’re Pirating
By 9.16.13
A friend of mine who managed a sneaker store back in the day when people still went to malls once told me that he kept track of the most-stolen shoes, not just for the purpose of keeping his inventory straight, but so that he’d know which ones the local kids wanted the most. Seems like Netflix is taking a similar view toward video piracy. [More]
Can Oyster, The ‘Netflix For Books,’ Be Successful?
By 9.5.13
When Netflix launched its DVD-by-mail service, it seemed like a no-brainer business model — pay a reasonable amount of money each month and never have to go to the video store again. Netflix successfully transitioned that model to streaming video and it’s now been parroted by others, and not just in the video business. Spotify, Google, Mog, and others have launched music services based on the Netflix model. It seems inevitable that Netflix-for-e-books is the next step, but are the pieces in place for it to work? [More]
What To Binge-Watch If You’re Staying In This Holiday Weekend
August 30, 2013
Sad that the summer holiday season is ending? Or maybe you’re burned out and cash-poor from going out too frequently? If you’re stuck inside this weekend, you might as well close the curtains, crack open some snacks and binge-watch entire seasons of shows like Orange Is the New Black, The Fall, and Vikings. The folks at AVclub.com have curated a list of 26 shows you could cram into a weekend (not at once, unless you are able to watch several TVs simultaneously without losing your grip on reality), along with info on where to stream each show. [AVclub.com]
Netflix’s “My List” Will Decide What You Want To Watch First With Instant Queue Revamp
By 8.22.13
So you think you know what you want to watch in your Instant Queue on Netflix, huh? Or maybe you added the fourth season of Leave It To Beaver during a particularly nostalgic moment one night after visiting Grandma, and now it’s just sitting there. Unwatched. Unloved. Waiting for its chance to be first in your heart again, if not in your instant queue. Netflix’s new “My List” feature will take care of that. [More]
Wait — Tiny Netflix Elves Aren’t Responsible For Tailoring Watching Recommendations?
By 8.8.13
Whenever there’s something technologically fascinating that is beyond my ken, I just imagine that tiny elves are responsible somehow. Sitting in a workshop, tinkering and tweaking away, perhaps whilst humming a merry tune. But alas, Netflix recommends new things for you to watch not due to the machinations of adorable wee workshop sprites, but through the science of algorithms. Go figure. [More]
Netflix Rolls Out Separate User Profiles So Your Recommendations Aren’t All ‘Dora The Explorer’
By 8.1.13
When Netflix launched its DVD-by-mail service many moons ago, it allowed users to divide up that allotment of DVDs among members of a household. Each person had his/her own queue that could be tailored to each person’s tastes. But with its streaming service, users just had one account (though often shared across numerous devices), so everyone could see when someone was watching a little too many mid-70s French horror films starring scantily clad vampires and every family’s recommendations filled up with animated kids shows because those often get the most play on the family iPad after school. [More]
Google Has Already Ended Netflix/Chromecast Promotion
By 7.26.13
One of the major selling points for Google’s new Chromecast streaming video dongle was that it initially came with three months of free Netflix service, which saves the customer $21 in monthly fees. But only a day after beginning to take orders, Google has already put an end to that promotion. [More]
Is Google’s Chromecast Streaming Video Dongle Worth Its $35 Price Tag?
By 7.24.13 — Updated: 7.26.13
Earlier today, Google announced its new Chromecast device, an HDMI dongle that allows users to wirelessly stream video from a computer or wireless device straight to their TV. For some people it may be a low-cost godsend, for others it might be a redundant waste of money. [More]
Netflix To Start Making Documentaries & Stand-Up Comedy Specials
By 7.23.13
Netflix is continuing its move from the ugly duckling it used to be back in the Qwikster days toward the kind of HBO swan it seems to want to be lately, by offering original series like House of Cards and the new Arrested Development that proved popular with users. Next up? Documentaries and stand-up comedy specials. [More]
Netflix Says It Is Not Deliberately Cropping Videos
By 7.18.13
Even though most TVs sold are now “widescreen,” filmmakers still shoot their movies in a variety of formats, not all of which fit into the standard 16:9 aspect ratio of your average flat-screen. Thus, some titles are still letterboxed when they are broadcast by cable companies or streamed over the Internet. But some people claim that Netflix is re-cropping movies to remove the letterbox bars. [More]
No Sale For Hulu… For Now
By 7.12.13
In recent months, there have been numerous rumors that companies like Yahoo, DirecTV, and AT&T were interested in buying video-streaming service Hulu, which is currently owned by the unholy trinity of FOX, NBC, and Disney. But today, the trio of owners confirmed they are staying put and will actually pump some more of their own money into the business. [More]
Sure, Netflix Said It’d Only Do One Season Of Arrested Development, But…
By 7.12.13
Netflix, y’all are just a bunch of outright teases, pulling the heart strings of Arrested Development fans this way and that way. Back in February, the company was all like, don’t get your hopes up, people — we’re only doing one streaming season of the show. The episodes hit all at once in May, hullabaloo ensued, and we all thought it was over until the AD movie. But it isn’t, not really. [More]
Is Verizon Deliberately Slowing Down Netflix Streaming To Customers?
By 6.18.13
One of the companies that provides bandwidth to Netflix claims that Verizon is allowing a traffic jam of data to build up at its connection points to the huge telecom company, resulting in a degraded connection for customers. [More]
