Netflix, famous for keeping the U.S. postal system relevant with their red envelopes of rental DVDs, continues the struggle to provide content in digital streaming format. Tuesday’s multi-year deal with the Weinstein Company guarantees them streaming rights to such movies as The Artist, a silent film nominated for 10 Academy Awards. The Weinstein releases will air via Netflix before their release on the leading pay television channels. Unfortunately, a three-year-long deal struck with the Starz network expires next week, cutting Netflix off from streaming many Walt Disney movies and other studios’ content.
It remains to be seen if Netflix can survive in the hostile environment they’re operating in. Currently, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings names HBO as their biggest competitor, but they face direct competition from Amazon’s and Walmart’s internet streaming services as well as from the traditional premium television providers.
In my personal experience as a Netflix subscriber who opted for the streaming option since it was a brand new offering, I’ve felt the quality of their content deteriorating with time. In recent months, I’ve started questioning why we even pay the monthly fee for their service? I’ve noticed an increase in the number of documentaries and a sharp decrease in the number of top-tier recent movies. The overall experience reminds me of browsing the VHS tape and DVD bargain bin at the local Big Lots store. One of the stronger arguments for our family retaining Netflix streaming was the amount of kids’ programming still found there. With Starz pulling out, I’m not even sure how that landscape will look. Maybe the deal with the Weinstein Company can reinvigorate a flagging interest in the Netflix streaming content.
I took a look at the list of movies and TV shows that will be amiss after today on http://tvandmoviesnow.com/netflix-starz-expiring-2012.html which was quite revealing and much anticipated for someone to post that info. There seem to be a lot of old family favorites, Westerns and like you said, children’s programming. As a father of 3, and a picky dad, I try to make sure my kids have a plethora of appropriate entertainment to watch when they want. If I were a Netflix customer, I would have reason for concern. Even looking at this list though, I’m not sure my kids would be interested in much other than Toy Story and Tangled. I was quite shocked by how many great titles I have now with a deal that my employer, DISH, made with Lionsgate for 3,000 streaming shows and movies. Although Disney is a family name, Starz didn’t provide many good properties for Netflix in the first place. I prefer shows like Strawberry Shortcake for my daughter which she was thrilled to find on our receiver. Even educational programming from Scholastic Media in the email I received which means I can use the time with my kids to interact with them and they will be learning. Perhaps Netflix is trying to provide the best they can to their customers, but it seems they cater to the people who pay the bills for a reason, and that alienates people like me.