Starting today, you’ll have roughly 2,000 less choices to view on Netflix when the streaming service removes a massive amount of movies from the Warner Bros. library. These movies also just happen to be the same ones that will become available on the new Warner Archive Instant.
According to Slate.com, a spokesperson for Warner Bros. and a spokesperson for Netflix have spoken up to say that the removal of the Warner Bros. movies, made up of pre-1986 titles from MGM and United Artists, has nothing to do with Warner Archive Instant. Joris Evers, Director of Global Corporate Communications for Netflix, claims that the spectacular reduction in movies comes out of an expected expiration date through a deal made with Epix, a television premium channel and subscription video on demand service. It’s hard to imagine that the connection between the movies lost and this new streaming service aren’t connected though.
So, what movies are disappearing and what exactly is on Warner Archive Instant? The first part of that question is easy enough to answer by looking at InstantWatcher.com’s overwhelming list of movies set to expire. The second part, well, it’s actually fairly easy enough to answer too by rifling through the collection made available online. And it’s a small collection at that. Clicking on the Brows All tab reveals a shockingly small amount of 222 titles. So, you can choose to watch the paranoid thriller Klute, the Blaxpoitation classic Cleopatra Jones, or the first season of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. With those being some of the handful of movies and television choices that rise to be the cream of the crop of Warner Archive Instant’s noticeably limited current selection, that surge of movies coming to the library should theoretically help increase the desired customer base. The important word there being theoretically.
Right now, the service is only available on PCs and Roku players, so it’s doubtful that Warner Archive Instant will be seen as any true competition to Netflix (or other streaming services like Hulu) any time soon. Also, at $9.99 per month, no mobile playback, and without the ability to accept PayPal payments, the model for Warner Archive Instant feels as outdated as many of the movies and television shows available on it. Of course, you can test out the new streaming service yourself by signing up for a free two-week trial.
The inevitable gnashing of teeth and dip in stock for Netflix is bound to happen, and there are some classics moving to Warner Archive Instant that may be sorely missed from the former service. However, with the ever-growing catalog of both acquired and new properties coming to Netflix, the streaming service will most likely not feel the sting of this loss for long.
UPDATE: Warner Bros. has heard the lamentations and announced on Twitter that the movies Netflix is removing won’t come to Warner Archive Instant because the service is for WB movies only, and it won’t carry Universal/MGM content.
We aren’t involved in Netflix’s business decisions & our content is drawn solely from WB’s library & aren’t streaming Universal/MGM content
— Warner Archive (@WarnerArchive) April 30, 2013
It takes almost as long to find a good movie on Netflix as it does to stream it.
It’s amazing to me that 15 years after Napster the big media companies still don’t seem to be paying any sort of price for being so heavy-handed technologically…
Aaarrrgh. I kept meaning to see if The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was on there because I’ve never seen it, but inevitably forgot by the time I was home and looking to watch something.
now i will try to watch on Netflix now :) Minneapolis Divorce Lawyer