KeithE4 said:
mnradiofan said:
This doesn't surprise me, but it's not a fair comparison either. It would be number 1, except it IS behind a paywall, and the barrier to entry also involves having an internet connected device to your TV, and a broadband connection.
How does it compare with pay-cable services like HBO and Showtime?
Where it isn't a fair comparison is that it has thousands of TV shows, and movies, all commercial free, and all available at the push of the button. No network, especially linear, can make that claim. I can't punch up ABC and ask them to start playing an episode of Lost from Season 1 at 3:53 on a Sunday afternoon.
Not yet. Give it another year or two.
It would be a fair comparison to compare Netflix to Comcast. It is not a fair comparison to compare Netflix to any one network, pay or otherwise. For one, with Netflix, I have access to everything. Sure, I have limited access to stuff to stream instantly, but add the DVD's, and I literally have everything that has been out a year at my fingertips. This is similar to Comcast. With on-demand, I have access to quite a bit (more than Netflix actually), but with linear networks, I have access to EVERYTHING (depending on package).
I do believe Netflix has indeed passed Comcast for video subscribers. If they haven't passed them, they've gotten close. As far as how it compares to HBO or Showtime, it probably beats them, I don't have those numbers in front of me at the moment. But again, I can pay 10 bucks a month for JUST Showtime, or $8 a month for what Netflix offers (on hours of content, it beats Showtime, Quality is hit or miss)
And, I'm not smack talking on Netflix. I've been a sub now for almost 10 years, and I love it (DVD and Streaming). I also have a full cable subscription, as both offer me different things. Although, my cable subscription has been cut back on. I don't feel the need to pay for premium movie channels, outside of Showtime because I love their shows and don't want to wait a year for them to come out on DVD. Cable company will be raising rates (again) this year, so I'll be re-evaluating when my current promo is up in August. Netflix raised my rates too, but in the last 10 years, they've probably gone up the same percentage wise (and because my bill is so high already, a 5% increase amounts to the same increase that Netflix passed on last year, and I get them almost yearly at this point.)
Also, as far as "give it time" no single broadcast network is going to give me on demand access to every show from every network, or commercial free movies with the diversity that Netflix offers, ever. It isn't in the best interest of NBC to give me access to past seasons of ABC, CBS, Fox, etc. just as it isn't in the best interest of HBO to allow Showtime subscribers to offer past or current seasons of shows. I'd love to see the content owners ease up, and I long for a day when I can pick up a remote and literally have access to every show and movie ever made (I'd even pay to remove commercials) but I don't see it happening in the near term. Even Netflix is going to have to start making decisions in the next few years what it wants to keep and what it needs to dump because of costs. Look at Starz, if Netflix REALLY wanted to keep them, they would have named the right price, but they have to also keep the costs low for consumers.
