Netflix doing well now, is that good?

It's a repeat of cable television. You got most of what you wanted with a basic subscription, but you had to pay extra for things like HBO. At least back then, you could get it all from one provider and mix and match. Now you have to do all your own content management with 3, 4, 5 streaming companies and each of them wants to up-sell you from the basic subscription.

See how spoiled we are? We used to have 3 networks, a PBS station and one or two local stations, we had to get up to change the channel, and we were plenty happy. Now look at us. We have 700 channels on cable, 5 or 6 streaming options, endless entertainment watching cats and dogs on Youtube, and we're not happy.
 
DLD said:
Subscriber growth alone won't be enough.
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NFLX popped about 8% after hours, then fell back by the time of today's 6pm earnings call.

They added 16 million subscribers, had a small Beat on Revenue but a 4% Miss in EPS.

I first got in at 60, and many subsequent points, but have slowly been cashing my chips in.
Perhaps it's time to call it a day and just watch?

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Paul F said:
... See how spoiled we are? We used to have 3 networks, a PBS station and one or two local stations, we had to get up to change the channel, and we were plenty happy. Now look at us. We have 700 channels on cable, 5 or 6 streaming options, endless entertainment watching cats and dogs on Youtube, and we're not happy.
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You had 3 networks and PBS? In my youth all we had was a single channel and its schedule was like this -

Nothing until 5 PM.

5PM. Brezhnev's speech.
6PM - Brezhnev's speech
7 PM - The best of Brezhnev.
8PM. Brezhnev's classics.
9PM. Brezhnev live (which was difficult after Nov, 10th, 1982 but I head they made do)
10PM. Letters to the editors, demanding more Brezhnev.
11 PM. Brezhnev on sports (that was the fun hour)
12PM. Brezhnev at Night (not quite Cinemax at Night - less silicon, more Brezhnev)
1 AM - A test pattern
2 AM - A test pattern

groveChuck said:
NFLX popped about 8% after hours, then fell back by the time of today's 6pm earnings call.

They added 16 million subscribers, had a small Beat on Revenue but a 4% Miss in EPS.

I first got in at 60, and many subsequent points, but have slowly been cashing my chips in. Perhaps it's time to call it a day and just watch? ....
Click to expand...
Given the dire state of the market over, I'd stick it out a while.

And maybe rent out your basement to anyone willing to store crude oil there.
 
DLD said:
Given the dire state of the market over, I'd stick it out a while.

And maybe rent out your basement to anyone willing to store crude oil there.
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We're filling pools with crude around here, aren't you? (can't swim in them, so...) And I've got my eyes on some Olympic pools in Japan...
Certainly, um, "interesting times" in the market, eh? I was always a fan of roller coasters, but this is a doozy.

Tough to say which was better for insomnia- Brezhnev or the test pattern?
 
DLD said:
... In my youth all we had was a single channel and its schedule was like this -

Nothing until 5 PM.

5PM. Brezhnev's speech.
6PM - Brezhnev's speech
7 PM - The best of Brezhnev.
8PM. Brezhnev's classics.
9PM. Brezhnev live (which was difficult after Nov, 10th, 1982 but I head they made do)
10PM. Letters to the editors, demanding more Brezhnev.
11 PM. Brezhnev on sports (that was the fun hour)
12PM. Brezhnev at Night (not quite Cinemax at Night - less silicon, more Brezhnev)
1 AM - A test pattern
2 AM - A test pattern
Click to expand...

He was a real charmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E66oM2iAMwM
 
Brezhnev had a stroke in 1976. He recovered but his speech became slurred. Yet he had to keep making public appearances. Retirement was out of the question. The running joke was his pronunciation of "systematic" (sistematicheski), which in his speeches sounded like "titties, my titties" (siski-masiski, with siski meaning breasts in Russian)

PS. That's a famous clip. He's barely there mentally.
 
Thanks for the notes. I didn't know about his stroke. I just picked the first clip in the list.

Speaking of oil and stupid trivia, The Beverly Hillbillies had good timing. Little did they realize that oil was being pumped in Beverly Hills as well. That was one of the things that struck me when I first moved there. To see oil derricks in Beverly Hills. They covered them up to make them look nice, but there was no mistaking it for anything else. I guess they hide them better now. https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/hidden-oil-wells/

Did I go off topic? What were we talking about?
 
Paul F said:
It's a repeat of cable television. You got most of what you wanted with a basic subscription, but you had to pay extra for things like HBO. At least back then, you could get it all from one provider and mix and match. Now you have to do all your own content management with 3, 4, 5 streaming companies and each of them wants to up-sell you from the basic subscription.

See how spoiled we are? We used to have 3 networks, a PBS station and one or two local stations, we had to get up to change the channel, and we were plenty happy. Now look at us. We have 700 channels on cable, 5 or 6 streaming options, endless entertainment watching cats and dogs on Youtube, and we're not happy.
Click to expand...

Yep. We have short memories. Until I was in HS, I had a 13" click-tune TV with rabbit ears in my bedroom. Three locals that carried the three nets, then we got an independent that was just syndicated programming, then FOX. I think PBS was too weak/snowy. And I remember when we finally got cable(in my parents room and the den) when I was in late elementary school.

Now, it is an 'embarrassment of riches'. I have a 55" 4K TV hanging on the wall in the bedroom with HD satellite service with God knows how many channels/on-demand/DVR, etc., built in 4K streaming apps in the TV and an Apple TV and in the den a 120" 4K projector with satellite, streaming apps, Apple TV 4K, multiple video game systems, surround sound, etc. And a laptop. And an iPad. And an iPhone. How many other people in the world would give anything to have just a fraction of what we take for granted? We are spoiled.
 
Odd, we cancelled at the beginning of April.

The 'original' content.... eerrrghhhh.... is it just me, or is Netflix just the online paid equivalent of the 90's USA Network?
 
mcbob said:
Odd, we cancelled at the beginning of April.

The 'original' content.... eerrrghhhh.... is it just me, or is Netflix just the online paid equivalent of the 90's USA Network?
Click to expand...

May just be you ; ). Netflix Original programming is killing it. Almost every series series I start watching, I finish and usually can’t wait until the next “season”. It’s another “embarrassment of riches”, so go speak. Even with all this free time, it’s hard to watch all the good stuff they have, because there is just so much other good stuff out there in other places, too.

I just started Lost in Space last week. Pretty darn good. And the “Dr Smith” character... Well done, you just absolutely hate them and are waiting for “the comeuppance “.
 
I think Netflix will start to face the "churn" that the other streamers face - it already has for my family.

The double-edged sword of streamers is the 1-month commitment. You can cycle in, watch what you want, and cycle out.

I had Netflix for like 10 years and then cancelled at the end of last year after finishing The Witcher. We'll come back to it to watch the new Altered Carbon series eventually, but...

We get Hulu for free with our internet provider. We actually pay for YouTube premium because it saves us a lot of commercials to watch and comes with a music service and background play on your phone.

BUT BEYOND THAT we've started to churn. We had HBO Now for 2 months to watch the new Curb your Enthusiasm and other stuff. Now we're getting a free month of CBS and may pay for a month after that to finish catching up on the new Star Trek series.

I want to see the Mandalorian and we'll do Disney+ for a month soon, but we haven't gotten to it. There's too much to watch!

So, with a little patience, we spend <$25 a month and can see everyone's stuff over time and just rent a movie now and then to fill in the gaps.
 
Also, does anyone else get non-pandemic envy watching all these shows now where no one is wearing a mask or social distancing (and life doesn't suck)?
 
I don't have Netflix. Generally, not that interested. An ex-companion of mine had it (and still may) but we could never find something both of us enjoyed watching. But I do have a question for those who have seen their more notable programming. What's the raunchiest rating does the Netflix allow? I don't believe they program anything like the long-canceled Cinemax at Night but they might have some foul mouthed standup comedy. Obviously, with the "Irishman", they permit the R-level violence too.
 
Run&Gun said:
May just be you ; ). Netflix Original programming is killing it.
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I dunno... dif'rent strokes etc. It seems to me like so many original series are endless explorations on the theme of people being dicks to one another. If I want that, I can get it for free on Facebook or certain bulletin board threads.
 
mcbob said:
I dunno... dif'rent strokes etc. It seems to me like so many original series are endless explorations on the theme of people being dicks to one another. If I want that, I can get it for free on Facebook or certain bulletin board threads.
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I liked The Witcher and Altered Carbon on Netflix. Those shows still have a place for heroes, even if the heroes have a dark side. Of course, I'm a sci-fi fan.

And on CBS All Access you can watch the new Star Trek Picard and Discovery shows, as well as the new Twilight Zone. ST Discovery is quite good although there's a lot more backstabbing and conflict among the crew than in previous series, whereas I had always enjoyed the utopian feeling of being part of a cohesive team on a mission of peaceful exploration.
 
mcbob said:
I dunno... dif'rent strokes etc. It seems to me like so many original series are endless explorations on the theme of people being dicks to one another. If I want that, I can get it for free on Facebook or certain bulletin board threads.
Click to expand...

Lol. Maybe that's why I like the serials, since I'm not on FB or twitter.
 
I didn't feel like starting a new thread. So, HBO Max is about to launch (on the 27th). It might carry an HBO moniker, but it's essentially a Warner Brothers streaming service, with a huge library of titles. And a $15/mo fee.

Here's more.

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/hbo-max
 
mcbob said:
I dunno... dif'rent strokes etc. It seems to me like so many original series are endless explorations on the theme of people being dicks to one another. If I want that, I can get it for free on Facebook or certain bulletin board threads.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
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