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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1471136
are home/personal video entertainment options available that people can spend money on for ad-free services as well as less expensive and ad-supported services. To entice folks to its service, Netflix set the bar high by signing multiyear contracts with leading content producers/developers and then funding/controlling the resulting projects. That worked great by serving up popular shows like Ozark, Orange is the new Black, House of Cards, Stranger Things, The Crown and more. They’ve even shown the industry that regional shows have global audience appeal. Netflix took a page from Hollywood and bragged about how many Torrent downloads – free word of mouth advertising – projects it had. They really wanted to recover some or all of that revenue but … While Netflix has tiptoed around the password sharing issue for a long time, most recently by offering phased pricing for friends and family viewing. The test program was a resounding failure coming at the same time the company increased monthly fees which after years of overlooking password sharing didn’t go over well … to say the least. Went over like a lead balloon. Long time content producers/servers like HBO Max, Disney, Hulu, Amazon, Apple have had password protection capabilities and enforcement from the outset, so password sharing is minimal and aggressively discouraged. Netflix, the globe’s leading SVOD by a wide margin, invested heavily in local content development which has helped them grow nicely in 190 countries in regions like the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), SEA (Southeast Asia) and LatAm. But the service has always been a lot like Henry Ford’s Model T observation, "You can have it in any color you want, as long as it is black," or in their case, all the content at one set fee. Have they been considering growth options? Sure! The most tangible action has been its video game acquisitions (Next Games, Night School, Boss Fight) to tap into the lucrative, constantly connected Gen Z (10-24 years) $6B download and streaming gaming market. It has worked … the games have attracted the younger crowd to its platform and its shows. But offering tiered pricing options is something Hastings has resisted for years. Snobs have been drinking the Kool-Aid … people cut their cord to escape advertising. BS! Study after study has proven that’s not the case. We’re not a reverse snob but we like ads … good ads. We don’t like 20 minutes of ads an hour.