Tag Archives: Netflix

Netflix Ratings…

Over at Slate.com Willa Paskin wrote a fascinating (to me, anyway!) article concerning Netflix and their recent release of watched program information, something they are often hesitant to do:

Netflix, You, and the Hits no one knows are Hit

The upshot of the article is that Netflix, who as I mentioned before are usually tight lipped about their watched programs, offered some information on their programs such as You, Sex Education, and Bird Box and… the numbers are eye opening, to say the least.

The author rightly questions whether the numbers are totally accurate. After all, what constitutes a “watch” of a series? Supposedly Netflix counts 70% of a watched show as valid, but while that may apply to stand alone movie such as Bird Box, one wonders if that also applies to a series of episodes.

Still, and again as the author notes, the numbers presented, even assuming they are likely inflated (and you can adjust them as you feel), are nonetheless staggering and the comparisons made to other successful feature films or TV shows hint at the very real possibility that there is a whole sub-culture out there that watches things which “regular” networks do not bother with.

One of the things I’ve noted with this new age of information is that sometimes unexpected things bubble to the surface and become popular. It’s almost impossible to predict what will “click” with the masses, but it does once again prove the late William Goldman was right when he said about making movies:

Nobody knows anything… Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.

Netflix cancels Girlboss…

Never saw the show, but over the weekend it was announced that the Netflix show Girlboss, based on the life of Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amorusa, was cancelled.  This article, by Matthew Dessem and found on Slate.com, is about the cancellation:

Netflix fires Girlboss

Again, I never saw the show and, most likely, never will.  There’s just too much entertainment out there and this particular topic, fashion, doesn’t intrigue me enough to see it though I’m certain there is/was an audience -though not enough of one- to get it made for at least the one season.

I point this out because Netflix, of late, appears to be paring down their shows.  They cancelled Sense8 and The Get Down in the previous month and who knows if they’re going to pare down a little more.

Not all that long ago -in late March as a matter of fact- I wrote about how much money Netflix was spending on what amounted to four original movies.  The movies, Death Note, Will Smith’s Bright, Brad Pitt’s War Machine, and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, are projected to cost Netflix a whopping $295 million to make.

That’s one hell of a lot of dough.

I felt then, as I do now, that Netflix is clearly on a roll and clearly has a lot of money to invest but wondered if going for such high end expensive projects might be…well…risky.  While they seem to be doing reasonably well with their TV shows (another expense, it should be noted), it seemed nearly incomprehensible to spend that much money on “just” four movies, even with the big names attached to them.

I can’t help but wonder, three months later, if some of the paring down of TV shows in this past couple of weeks indicates that those at Netflix are beginning to realize they can’t sustain so many projects and invest that much money without -I know this is going to sound childishly simple- making it back.

At least making it back, if not actually turning a profit.

Much as I love movies and follow all the stories regarding the studios and features to come, their continued success relies, as it does with so many companies, with the bottom line.

If Actor X or Director Y make a film that bombs, hard, odds are those who could potentially back them will be more hesitant to invest in their next project(s).  If they make a bundle with their film, obviously the opposite is the case and said Actor or Director may find themselves in the position to do what they want rather than what they can get.

With Netflix, I had the impression from that first story that they were so flush with cash and were so enamored with movies and TV shows (not unlike so many of us) that they felt they could turn around and make things they’d like to see.  They invested big bucks into shows and, now, movies but, again, I can’t help but wonder if this paring down shows they’ve realized they can’t simply keep funding projects that don’t turn at least a modest profit for them.

Someone far more clever than I once said of a business (it doesn’t really matter which one as it can apply to so many of them), that “You can make a small fortune on it, provided you go into it with a large fortune”.

So it may be with Netflix and their movies and TV shows, if they’re not careful.

The success of Netflix…

I use Netflix.  I suppose most people do.

It’s a nice service that offers both streaming films as well as, if you want to, DVD/BluRays sent to you that are not currently streaming.

Of late they’ve been busy making original shows and features, perhaps most preeminent being the Marvel related series.

Now, according to Devindra Hardawar at engadget.com, they’re expanding into big budget movies…

Netflix’s big budget Death Note remake lands on August 25th

While the headline is about the Death Note movie (included is an intriguing, if not quite great, trailer), Mr. Hardawar notes:

Netflix is no stranger to original films these days, but Death Note is one of the first big budget gambles for the company. It won’t be the last, though: Netflix has also shelled out $90 million for the Will Smith film Bright, $60 million for Brad Pitt’s War Machine and it reportedly spent over $100 million on Martin Scorsese’s next movie, The Irishman, starring Robert DeNiro.

Netflix makes a hell of a lot of money and it seems natural they should invest in movies/TV shows they can show on their services.

…however…

As much as Netflix makes, if one counts the supposed budgets of all these films (Death Note cost 45 million to make), they represent a total investment of (gulp) $295 million dollars.  That’s a terrific amount of cash to invest in what amounts to “only” four movies, regardless of the big names attached to them.

It’s not my money, of course, and if the films are successful they will pave the way toward making Netflix not only a movie provider, a proper movie maker.

I just hope they’re wise with their investments.

Longmire, season 4 on Netflix…

I’m a big fan of Longmire, the television show that aired for three seasons on A&E only to be cancelled on a particularly juicy cliffhanger.  Thankfully, Netflix snatched the show up and come September 10th, ten episodes will become available for any subscriber to see:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/longmire-season-4-photos_55d3a9bbe4b0ab468d9ed983

This is the first time I’m eager to catch a “new” series on Netflix.  I was no more than curios to see the new Arrested Development but when I started seeing the episodes I wasn’t all that impressed and dropped it after the first one.  I’ve read/heard varying accounts of how good/bad the new episodes were.  If I ever find the free time, I’ll eventually give it a look-see.

But I most certainly will be giving Longmire a look.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll remain as fascinating as it was when it aired on A&E.