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Showtime to pull shows from Netflix

5K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  m3t4lw01f 
#1 ·
#2 ·
This doesn't surprise me.

As Netflix starts to get bigger and draws more eyeballs, the content makers are going to want to earn more from NetFlix to make up for reduced earnings from other sources.
 
#3 ·
In the end all this will do is drive people to less legal means of getting the content they want to watch.

Especially in the case of stuff that can't be had *at all* in Canada.

I don't know how many times I've said, "Give me the content I want on any device I want and I'm more than happy to pay a reasonable fee for it."

I wish for once the big media companies would EMBRACE a new technology instead of setting up a half-assed "competitor" that is completely uncompelling. Netflix is a great service, would cost content companies nothing to distribute on, and gives comsumers exactly what they want. Win-win, really. Too bad they don't see it that way.
 
#4 ·
It sounds like US cable companies are also making moves to protect their market share. If they lock up streaming rights for their own customers or services, it provides a competitive edge. It's a slightly different tactic than Canadian cable operators are taking and probably better for consumers, but not by much.
 
#6 ·
In the end all this will do is drive people to less legal means of getting the content they want to watch.
Pirates will steal regardless.

I'm not sure why folks seem to be blaming CBS. This has anything to do with fear of technology. With Xfinity, consumers can watch Showtime programs over internet, iOS devices, VOD and more, just like Netflix. In addition, Xfinity offers higher quality with VOD and doesn't use your bandwidth.
 
#7 ·
XFinity might be a fine service...if it's available to you. It's not available for me, so I'm left out.

The message I receive from that is that they don't want me as a customer. Removing the content from the service I do use reinforces that point.

Personally, I'd say the content producer deserves quite a bit of the blame.
 
#8 ·
It's not available for me, so I'm left out.
It's never been available to you on Netflix. It was never offered in Canada because Astral owns the rights in this country so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

If you don't have xfinity, you can still buy the shows on DVD, Blu-ray, probably iTunes, rent from your local Video store and maybe watch it on VOD from your cable provider.
 
#9 ·
If you subscribe to an Astral service, programming can be streamed through the BDU's web site and/or on demand service. That's at least true of Bell and HBO/TMN. I just checked and it looks like Showtime series are not available on demand from Astral through Bell.
 
#10 ·
I'm talking about the general availability of streaming content in Canada, I guess.

My point is, I want streaming video. I don't want to have to go out to the video store, or buy a DVD, or any of that. It's technically possible, as Netflix has proven. The fact that I can't get it in the format I want, even though someone in a different location using a different service can is the part I don't understand.

I realize the rights for distribution here are different, but contracts can be changed, distribution deals can be re-worked. It could happen. That's my wish.
 
#12 ·
My point is, I want streaming video. I don't want to have to go out to the video store, or buy a DVD, or any of that.
And you can still have it. I'll bet both those shows are available on Apple TV or on the iTunes store in the United States (They aren't on iTunes Canada for the same reason they aren't on Netflix Canada, because Astral owns the Canadian rights)
 
#13 ·
Another walled garden, another separate device (which I don't own and have no interest in buying), and another pain in my backside.

I think we're just going to have to disagree on this one Hugh. They're making it more difficult to get access to their content by removing it from a service many people are using, and putting it into a different service that some people don't even have access to.

Just because *I've* never had access to it is irrelevant, think of all those Americans who can't subscribe to XFinity, but can subscribe to Netflix that now can no longer access those Showtime shows on that service.

My original argument stands. This will only lead to more people finding less legitimate means to get the content. What they're trying to do is make it so that you can either buy your premium cable tv subscription, and get everything there, or you can buy 15 different walled garden video services online whos sum total monthly bill, plus pain in the ass factor, is more than cable, so you just stick with cable.

As a LEGITIMATE consumer of content, that's how I read the situation, and it annoys me greatly.
 
#14 ·
I think that Netflix needs to change it's model to carry premium content. Companies like Showtime probably want more revenue than Netflix offers with its basic subscription. There are a number of ways that Netflix could do this and they are most likely working on it.
 
#15 ·
This will only lead to more people finding less legitimate means to get the content.
So if it isn't priced at rock bottom prices, you steal it?

Sorry but I have no time for that argument.
 
#16 ·
Not once did I say I condoned the act. What I said was that making it less convenient for people is a mistake. I stand by that statement. The rason I have no interest in Apple TV is because I have SIGNIFICANT investment in other technologies, and I simply don't want to add another $100 box to my setup.

Hell, I signed up for a VPN service so I could also sign up for US Netflix to get "legitimate" access to the content they offer, but ended up not all that impressed with the quality of it with my media center setup and cancelled it after a while.

I am not the enemy here. I'm just pointing out how I see this playing out. I see it playing out that way because that's the way it's played out every time a disruptive technology comes along that threatens the existing business.

I'll thank you not to call me a thief again.
 
#17 ·
I never called you a thief.

As I noted, I have no time for the extortionate argument that if a supplier doesn't make it "cheaper" then its simply inviting the stealing of its product.

You were bemoaning that fact Showtime shows are not available online but in fact they are.
 
#18 ·
I wasn't saying they need to make it cheaper, just more convenient. I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee for access to stuff. That's why I've maintained an active cable tv sub for so long (At least the last 11 years). I found value in the service for the price I was paying. (The only reason I am cancelling my cable now is to afford data plans on a couple smartphones...in this case, the money I save on cable tv is going to the same company I'm paying for the smartphone plans...so they lose nothing.)

I wasn't making the "I can get it for free so why would I pay for it argument". I was making the "Look at the hoops I have to jump through to legally watch this on my xbox" argument. What I'm saying is that by making it more complicated (not more expensive), they are inviting trouble. You have to agree that by moving shows from a very simple service to a walled-garden service, they are making it more complicated.

In the future, it would be great if a service like Netflix existed where you could go for one-stop-shop access to everything. They are taking a step away from that, not towards it, and I find that extremely frustrating, especially knowing what technology allows these days. I can guarantee that if they did have all that first-rate content I'd be (and my guess is a lot of the media-consuming public would be) willing to pay more than $8 a month for it for the convenience alone. Right now, with the current content selection, it's really only worth about $8 a month.

I apologize for assuming your comment

So if it isn't priced at rock bottom prices, you steal it?
wasn't directed at me. It felt like it was.
 
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