Tag Archives: Netflix

Gillmor Gang: Windows Too Late

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The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, John Taschek, Kevin Marks, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor — broke from the gate and never let up in a barnburner of a show about the post-Jobs era. Will Google assume the mantle of leadership from an aging Apple, or is this just an evolutionary step along the stream of innovation triggered by the iPhone/iPad?

There’s plenty of data on both sides of this coin. Certainly Google Glass has triggered a lot of the same atmospherics that accompanied Apple’s storming of the Microsoft barricades. Every day we see the wreckage of the PC era float past us as our thoughts shift from Windows to Web to apps. Mobile has won the war for our hearts and minds. As Adam said to Eve: Stand back, we don’t know how big this is going to get.

@stevegillmor, @scobleizer, @jtaschek, @kevinmarks, @kteare

Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor

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Young Americans Won’t Pay for TV. Will They Ever?

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It’s 4 a.m., and Cameron Anderson is already up for work. The 27-year-old manages a Starbucks in Wallingford, an enclave of hip families and artists on the north side of Seattle. Five days a week, she’s at the store at 4:30 a.m., getting it ready to open a half hour later. To get in a much-needed eight hours of sleep, she shoots for an 8 p.m. bedtime – which means she can’t watch Teen Mom 2 on MTV. But that’s not a problem. “Online, I can go and pick and choose what I want,” she says. “I can still go to bed at 8 and watch all the shows I want.” Like a growing number of her peers, cable doesn’t fit Anderson’s lifestyle. And it probably never will. A November 2012 report from digital media analysis firm The Diffusion Group found that 13% of U.S. households who have broadband services don’t have pay-TV (cable, satellite or telco-TV), and of those, 2.6 million have never paid for traditional television. According to TDG, those “cord nevers,” as media analysts call them, are disproportionately millennial: 29% are between 18 and 24. A new generation is coming of age, and so is their collective distaste for cable. (COVER STORY: The New Greatest Generation) Among cable networks and distributors, the prevailing ideology is that when people like Anderson settle down and find jobs with more normal hours, they’ll purchase cable subscriptions. Bernadette Aulestia, HBO’s senior vice president of domestic network distribution, says the premium cable network uses HBO GO, a companion video streaming service, to hook millennials on popular shows like Girls, Game of Thrones and Eastbound & Down while they have access to their parents’ subscriptions. When they grow up and settle into better-paying, 9-to-5 jobs, she says, they are more likely to add HBO to their cable packages.  “When you think about what the next generation of consumers is for us, as they then graduate, household formation, then get the house, get the 40-inch screen and ultimately, decide on the types of services, that they’re going to subscribe to us,” Aulestia says.

Netflix loses 1,794 videos from its streaming catalog

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The Netflix competition heats up, for the 55+ demographic.

An expiring contract for Netflix means the streaming video service will lose 1,794 pieces of content, according to Mashable. Netflix’s agreement with Warner Bros., MGM, and Universal expired Wednesday, meaning customers will lose the ability to watch such morsels as Cruel Intentions and Big Daddy.

The contents of Netflix’s instant streaming catalog wax and wane all the time, but it’s rare that there is such a mass exodus from the service. Starz let its own contract with Netflix expire in February 2012, which resulted in the loss of titles like Amélie and around a thousand others.

Warner Bros. Is taking its business to its own streaming service, WB Archive Instant, which is priced at $9.99 per month. If the service’s best offerings are placed front and center on the home page, shown above, we’re not entirely sold.

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Netflix to add “family” streaming plan with four simultaneous streams

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Netflix announced plans to introduce a “family” tier of the streaming service that will allow up to four devices to play video from one account simultaneously, according to a letter to shareholders released Monday. Netflix stated that large “families” are often cramped by the two-simultaneous-stream limit, so the company will add an expanded plan to better serve the groups of people who are trying to watch three or more things at once and are definitely blood relations of one another.

Netflix experienced a small dust-up in the fall of 2011 when some users hit a glitch that seemed to limit them to a single stream at a time. The actual limit for a regular $7.99 plan is two simultaneous streams.

While Netflix claims that it expects “fewer than one percent” of its members to take advantage of the plan, clearly enough of its customer base has run afoul of the streaming limit to merit a new plan in Netflix’s arsenal.

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Netflix Says Fewer Than 8,000 People ‘Gamed’ Its Free Trials To Watch House Of Cards

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Netflix released its first-quarter earnings report today, and the company saw another period of strong growth, adding more than 3 million streaming members, bringing its total to 36 million. Domestically, Netflix saw 2 million new streaming members, which was relatively equal compared to last quarter and up from 1.74 million in Q1 last year.

Helping Netflix along in its rebound after the split of its business, which caused a big customer backlash, has been the company’s focus on original programming, beginning with its first “major” TV series, House of Cards. Netflix just recently launched its second original series, Hemlock Grove, and on May 25th will feature the much-anticipated debut of Arrested Development. However, the question has been whether or not Netflix’s new shows would significantly add to its member total — or whether people would sign up for a month to get the shows for free and then cancel.

In its letter to shareholders today, Netflix said that in spite of the fact that “some investors were worried that the House of Cards fans would take advantage of its free trial, watch the show and then cancel,” there was, in fact, very little “free-trial gaming” as the company calls it — fewer than 8,000 people signed up to watch it for free and then cancelled — out of what the company says were “millions of free trials in the quarter.”

Herein, Netflix is just talking about the free trial portion of its service, whereas the other question has been whether or not the new members the company has been able to attract through House of Cards would actually stick around. And it seems that, from its 2 million new members, it was actually able to retain those new customers.

“The launch of House of Cards provided a halo effect on our entire service and spoke to the quality of experience members can expect from Netflix,” the executives said in their letter to shareholders this afternoon. In fact, the good news for Netflix is that, so far, Hemlock Grove seems to be attracting the same amount of attention, if not more than House of Cards.

“Hemlock Grove was viewed by more members globally in its first weekend than was House of Cards and has been a particular hit among young adults,” the company said in its letter. However, on the other hand, that goodwill may be short-lived. According to reviews from Metacritic, people aren’t exactly loving Hemlock Grove — in fact most seem to think it’s awful. The AV Club goes so far as to give Hemlock an “F.” So there’s that.

That could change, after all. The show hasn’t been out very long. Netflix just made all 13 episodes available three days ago. At the same time, it wouldn’t be surprising if Netflix were to go through a little bit of a hangover after House of Cards — or to learn that it has dedicated more capital, advertising, etc. to its first big splash (House of Cards) and its much-anticipated comedy (Arrested Development) than Hemlock. However, that’s just speculation at this point and only time will tell.

Netflix Beats Analyst Estimates, With 29.2 Million US Subscribers And $1 Billion In Q1 Revenue

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Netflix reported positive first-quarter numbers, including revenues of $1.02 billion during the first three months of the year. The company also announced that it added 2 million domestic in the quarter, bringing the total number of subscribers to 29.2 million.

The results represent a positive response to Kevin Spacey-led political thriller House of Cards, which just happens to be the first major release in Netflix’s original programming slate this year. And they’re driving investors to jump on the stock in after-hours trading, driving shares up nearly 20 percent.

Netflix announced net additions of 2.03 million subscribers in the U.S. compared to 2.05 million in the fourth quarter — which historically is its strongest period of subscriber growth — and 1.74 million in last year’s first quarter. As a result, it said that it’s growing its subscriber base and revenues faster than its content spend in the streaming business. It reported that its domestic streaming contribution margin increased to 20.6 percent in the quarter, which was up 140 basis points from the previous quarter.

Analysts estimated that the company would report about $1 billion in revenue, as well as earnings of 18 cents a share. But the number everyone is looking at is Netflix’s subscriber number, which Wall Street forecast would be around 29 million streaming subscribers in the U.S.

Netflix is betting big on the release of exclusive shows like House of Cards as a way to differentiate its service from the syndicated content that it’s licensed from existing TV networks. It’s investing hundreds of millions of dollars in these series, and hoping that investment will be paid back with greater subscriber interest.

While Netflix had released its first original show, the Steve Van Zandt-led Norwegian mob comedy Lillyhammer last year, this quarter marks the introduction of House of Cards. That series debuted to strong reviews and a huge marketing push by Netflix, which was hoping to capitalize on the acting of Kevin Spacey, producer David Fincher, and the popularity of the original British miniseries of the same name.

So far, that strategy appears to be working, as House of Cards very quickly became Netflix’ most-watched program. More importantly, more subscribers than expected signed up for the service since the launch of the new series. In its analyst comments, Netflix noted:

“Some investors worried that the House of Cards fans would take advantage of our free trial, watch the show, and then cancel. However, there was very little free-trial gaming – less than 8,000 people did this – out of millions of free trials in the quarter.”

That’s a great response to House of Cards — but Netflix has even more exclusive content in its pipeline. Netflix just introduced Hemlock Grove, a 13-part horror series from Hostel director Eli Roth. Next month, there’s the return of offbeat comedy Arrested Development, which will be available only on Netflix. Later, Weeds creator Jenji Kohan’s new series Orange Is The New Black will also be released.

In addition to its domestic streaming numbers, Netflix reported 1 million new subscribers in its international business, growing that number to 7.1 million total. That compares to 1.8 million international subscribers added during the holiday quarter, and 1.2 million a year previous. While those numbers might seem low compared to previous quarters, Netflix said it benefitted from launches in new markets in earlier quarters. The company plans to continue its expansion overseas, with a new international market to be added in the second half of the year.

To no one’s surprise, Netflix DVD membership continued to decline, but just modestly. The total DVD subscriber base fell by about 250,000 users, to 8 million total. But contribution profit continued to hold strong at $113 million, despite higher usage in the quarter and a small USPS price increase.

Netflix reported that its first-quarter net income was $3 million, or 5 cents a share, but that included a $16 million loss on the extinguishment of debt related to refinancing of a loan from February. Without that, the company would have reported net income of $19 million, or 31 cents per share, well above guidance.

Going into the second quarter, Netflix is forecasting slower growth in streaming subscribers — most likely due to Q2 seasonality — to end the quarter with between 29.40 and 30.05 million subscribers. That will amount to about $665 million to $673 million in U.S. subscriber revenue and between $139 million and $149 million in contribution profit. All in all, it expects earnings between $14 million and $29 million during the second quarter, or 23 to 48 cents per share.

All 13 Episodes Of Netflix’s Third Original Series, Hemlock Grove, Now Available To Stream

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Netflix launched its most recent original series today, following Lillyhammer from last year and the David Fincher-created House of Cards. As with previous releases, all 13 of the episodes of Hemlock Grove arrive at the same time, so you can gorge yourself on a non-stop feast of guilty pleasure pretty much all weekend.

Guilty pleasure is more or less what this show is all about. There are boobs within 45 seconds of the beginning of the very first episode. Less than five minutes in, shit starts to get weird, and it’s grossly violent within seven. And there’s a character called Banksy, which seems a completely unnecessary and nonsensical pop culture reference. But for all that, it’s still eminently watchable, based on the first episode.

Here’s how I imagine the development of this show went behind the scenes at Netflix: People search for True Blood on Netflix in droves and are disappointed to find it’s not there; people rent a lot of Twilight; people rent a lot of procedural dramas; vaguely sexy stuff does well, and viewers love Famke Janssen.

It’s very hard to credit Hemlock Grove as original, but it doesn’t seem to concerned about earning that descriptor, either. Still, the movie has quite the act to follow with House of Cards, which quickly rose to become Netflix’s most-watched program. Netflix is already doing its part to promote the series, with large banner ads displayed across its web interfaces (which, to Netflix’s credit, only appear to be displayed once), and on some third-party devices like the Boxee TV. Also, this potentially has a much more broad appeal than a dense political drama, which helps its chances of showing up its predecessor.

I highly doubt Hemlock Grove is going to take home any little golden statuettes, but I will say it’s hard to stop watching once you start.

Netflix Confirms 15 New Episodes Of Arrested Development Landing May 26 At 12:01 AM PT

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Netflix has finally revealed exactly when we’ll be able to get our new Arrested Development fix: May 26, 2013 will see the debut of 15 new episodes of the Mitch Hurwitz-led series, which will go live in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Latin America, Brazil and the Nordics as of 12:01 AM Pacific Time. The series length is actually up one episode from earlier reports, so there’s even more new Arrested Development for die-hard fans to marathon that day.

As with Netflix’s original series House of Cards, all 15 episodes of Arrested Development will debut at the same time on the streaming service, and obviously won’t feature any commercials. It’s also available to all markets where Netflix operates at the same time, which often isn’t true for televised content. The new series sees the entire core cast return for the show, including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, David Cross and Alia Shawkat.

Show runner Mitch Hurwitz and Arnett, who plays Gob Bluth, recently talked to TechCrunch about the return of Arrested Development on Netflix. Check out the video below to see what the two had to say about launching a new season direct to the streaming video service.