Are Netflix and the Like Dying?

[anantaandroscoggin]

I remember one of the early CGI-using movies, The Last Starfighter, back when the digital artifacts were still very evident on the silver screen (and later, just as obvious on your analog TV screen as well).

One of the larger defects of the networks that resulted in my not watching TV any more is the entire, mean-spirited, so-called "Reality TV" thing. If I want to see people being deliberately screwed around with, I'll watch a gangster or war movie. I don't need to see real people being tortured in the name of TV ratings and screwing over the screenwriters. I only ever watched one episode of one reality TV show, Mad, Mad House, out of sheer curiosity. Didn't like it either.

The local movie theater here has a "Free movie on your birthday" thing going on. Over the past 19 years, when my birthday rolled around they only had something I wanted to see -- even for free -- four of those years.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I simply cant stand network tv and the 8 million commercials in between a show...or is that 8 minutes of show between commercials...I cant tell. Pause rewind and captions are great. Especially with new stuff where they feel compelled to put audio with huge amounts of ambient noise. Maybe its proof that people really dont have anything to say when they put that much noise in a show.

I estimate that less than 30% of what I watch is Network TV, and the bulk of that is sports and news. Thank heavens for DVRs. Almost all of which is recorded, and I start watching after allowing enough time to be able to fast forward through all the commercials and talking heads.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When we got rid of cable and just used wifi for our Roku TV, I was surprised at how many free channels we got just plugging into wifi. Literally over a thousand channels come through wifi. We subscribe to Netflix, Prime, and HBOMax, and we get Paramount and Disney for free somehow.

At first it feels unusual not to just turn the TV on and scan for something meaningless to watch. But, having subscription services makes you focus in more on just what we want to watch. Plus, it is really nice not to have a network news. This forces me to read the newspaper a little more closely.

I don't think I would want cable at all anymore, not even if they gave it out for free. The days of watching meaningless tv is over for me.

 

[mawnansmiff]

allowing enough time to be able to fast forward through all the commercials and talking heads.

I have a deep loathing for TV adverts so I also record programmes from commercial channels.

I fully appreciate why averts exist, I just can't bear to waste 15-20 minutes per hour of my life in watching them.

PBS America is a great channel for documentaries but is riddled with ads begging me to donate money to one cause or another, often showing disturbing images of starving donkeys or malformed children. If I didn't have a PVR then I wouldn't bother with the channel.

Jay.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I was never big on Netflix and the like.

Most recently I've started using Sling.
It's the cheapest way to get TCM that I've found ($40/mo.)
TCM is the channel I watch 95% of the time.

 

[kola]

I just don't watch T.V as its all so depressing. With so many remakes of older movies that have become now vehicles for inclusion propaganda I just don't bother. I might watch Operation Mince Meat which is a remake of the 1950s movie The Man Who Never Was but that is more out of curiosity.

I'm a bit the same, I don't care for the TV stuff. I only own ONE TV and subscribe to a particular set-up that gets me access to every NFL game and every NHL game. I couldn't care less about anything else (movies and the other crap) I also mute the commercials when they come on when I'm watching hockey or football. BUT! as of late I'm starting to lose interest in the NFL and it's infiltration of politics, Hollywood trash and other narrative agendas. Hockey has me on the edge too as it's been "pussified" - much the same as the NFL. And I won't even mention the horrid referee issues for both sports.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'd suggest English football as the least affected by such crap. Hard to get into at first, but well worth it. You can't be a pussy for long and stay on a team in the Premier League.

 

[condorlover1]

Try rugby. That seems to be pretty immune to the machinations of the poetry espousing sodomites who populate other sports!

 

[fireground_piper]

Worth mentioning Netflix is proceeding with their 300 acre production campus in my state. It keeps slowly clearing various planning hurdles.

I’m not a fan of it but unless Netflix runs out of money and can’t build it, definitely not going to be blocked by any government agency.

 

[Sigmund]

Maybe we can get paid to make a show about guys who smoke pipes.....

 

[jpmcwjr]

Speaking of Netflix, I just found out this company signed a deal with Prince Harry; he and Meghan will produce content and make good money. << Snipped bits out >>

If I never hear another word about those people I will feel blessed.

So, Odin, please introduce yourself in New Members Intro.- what do you like to smoke? What pipes do you like?

 

[Sigmund]

Yes, I want to hear more about the problems of absurdly rich people.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, I want to hear more about the problems of absurdly rich people.

Especially if they are overly entitled assholes.

 

[sablebrush52]

Yes, I want to hear more about the problems of absurdly rich people.

Especially if they are overly entitled assholes.

Then you're perfectly aligned with an epicenter of cultural passion, schadenfreude, baby!! People LOVE voyeuristically spying on the downfalls and troubles of the rich, famous, and powerful. They get compensation for for their aggrieved view of their lives, their pimply kids or foul smelling spouses, overbearing bosses, and daily struggle. And this crap makes BANK!
Which is why there's so much of it all over media. It's cheap to produce and there's an insatiable demand for it. Welcome to the fold!

 

[Sigmund]

They would go broke if they counted on my viewing.

 

[hassoalbert]

Speaking as one of those poor sots who rode the digital wave in the early '90's, co-founding Warner Digital Studio as its senior Art Director I know that digital tools opened up a lot of possibilities for telling stories. But they are NOT the story, just a toolbox for talented artists. As Goerge Lucas said, nothing is more boring than a visual effect.

On the other hand, AI has great potential to expand storytelling, but at a huge cost to jobs, an estimated 200,000 in the VFX and animation fields over the next several years.

Because much of its data uses the stolen creativity of gifted artists it allows mediocrities to look like geniuses, at least till the repetition of its creative limits winds up with its eating its own tail.

Personally I would like to see these AI companies made to pay for their stolen assets with at least some of that going to help artists, whose jobs are made redundant by this tech, transition to a different career path.

My advice to artists is to embrace the tech, master using it, and market that skill. They will make beaucoup bucks for a few years before advancements replace them.

When digital technology hit the field of VFX I didn't waste a nanosecond moaning about it. I taught myself new skills and rode that wave to new opportunities. AI will be more destructive.

Studio execs and Wall Street love it because AI will cut costs and boost profits even as it dulls creativity. They understand profit and loss, not creativity of youtube thumbnail downloader. It doesn't have to be that way, but we're dealing with human beings and they rarely do things well.

It's quite the opposite actually! Streaming platforms like Netflix have been experiencing significant growth over the years. They've revolutionized the way we consume entertainment, offering a vast library of content accessible at our fingertips. While there's always competition and evolving market dynamics, streaming services continue to adapt and innovate to maintain their relevance. So, rather than dying, they're shaping the future of entertainment consumption.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Are not two (or more) matters being discussed? One is simply the improvement and growth of streaming, and the other is use—and misuse—of tools (also vastly improved) in making content.

 

[andrew]

It's pirated TV taking over. For 120 a year you can get everything every streaming service has along with live TV and free ppv's. That is where the problem is. Streaming isn't dying.

 

[Sigmund]

The one thing that I dislike about streaming and it might have happened anyway with normal viewing is that Netflix and company will make a show about ANYTHING. Anyone or anything that they can sqeeze a little drama into becomes a tv show. It doesnt matter if it has any value. Its the tv version of clickbait. While that is alright it lets them get away with producing less so overall quality degrades. But maybe Im just being a grumpy old man...that is possible. All said, I do like the streaming experience. There is no way I would watch network tv if it went away. Id just post on forums

 

[jpmcwjr]

Fortunately, among Netflix, Prime, Paramount+, Britbox, PBS Passport, Peacock, Hulu and others, there's no need to watch dreck.

It reminds me I need to be more proactive in finding good movies and series, rather than just starting something that looks good and interesting.