The future of television

[SteelBlue]

Netflix streaming has made me realize that the only reason to have cable/satellite is for sports and for great first run series television. In fact, if there was a way for me to pay the 10 bucks a month that I pay for netflix and get some kind of similar service for live sports I'd get rid of satellite today. It's 500 channels of crap for the most part. I have to believe that there are many who feel the same way. I can watch just about any movie and really any quality t.v. show on demand with really no drop in quality and with no advertising and all at a fraction of the monthly cost.

I imagine that if cable/satellite would move to an a la carte model they might be in a position to survive the efficiency and convenience of the netflix streaming model. But they've been loathe to do so to this point and I honestly can't figure out how they'll survive long term with their current cost and method of delivery. One thing that the network and cable channels do have going for them is that they currently control the creation and production of new content. But it seems to me that a company like Netflix as it grows could begin investing in the creation of content as well and begin skipping the middle man altogether (as I'm sure this post makes clear, I know nothing about the tv business I'm just thinking). Or would a foray into creation require higher subscription rates over time?

I'm curious what you think the future holds for television and the delivery of programming. Will the current model hold or will we move toward streaming content with cable and satellite slowly dying off or will it be something else entirely? And if cable/satellite begin to wane, who will create new content?Will we see a day when we don't need cable/satellite to watch all live sports?

[falafel]

I can watch just about any movie and really any quality t.v. show on demand with really no drop in quality and with no advertising and all at a fraction of the monthly cost.

Really? Are you talking only about netflix instant streaming or their DVD service too, because there are about a million movies and tv shows that I can't stream right now. In fact, it seems like whenever I think of something I'd like to stream right now and I search for it, they don't have it. They don't even have all the older movies, like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, or Goonies! They do have Karate Kid though.

Sorry, I know this is off point for you. However, I think this needs to be considered. Right now netflix is a great 2nd option for me, but it just can't satisfy everything I need. And if it ever got to the point where it could stream just about everything I wanted to watch, I have a feeling it wouldn't be as cheap as it is now. Certainly not the $8.99 a month I'm paying.

[UteStar]

Really? Are you talking only about netflix instant streaming or their DVD service too, because there are about a million movies and tv shows that I can't stream right now. In fact, it seems like whenever I think of something I'd like to stream right now and I search for it, they don't have it. They don't even have all the older movies, like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, or Goonies! They do have Karate Kid though.

Sorry, I know this is off point for you. However, I think this needs to be considered. Right now netflix is a great 2nd option for me, but it just can't satisfy everything I need. And if it ever got to the point where it could stream just about everything I wanted to watch, I have a feeling it wouldn't be as cheap as it is now. Certainly not the $8.99 a month I'm paying.

Curious about netflix...if I do the $8.99 monthly, I get one movie at a time. If I stream it on a Friday night and finish it, can I stream another movie right after it or is there a time issue or how does that work?

[SteelBlue]

Curious about netflix...if I do the $8.99 monthly, I get one movie at a time. If I stream it on a Friday night and finish it, can I stream another movie right after it or is there a time issue or how does that work?

You can stream as many movies as you want. The one movie at a time only applies to dvds. The issue is that many movies are not available in streaming.

[Lost Student]

Curious about netflix...if I do the $8.99 monthly, I get one movie at a time. If I stream it on a Friday night and finish it, can I stream another movie right after it or is there a time issue or how does that work?

You get one disc at a time you can stream non-stop.

[SCcoug]

Curious about netflix...if I do the $8.99 monthly, I get one movie at a time. If I stream it on a Friday night and finish it, can I stream another movie right after it or is there a time issue or how does that work?

My wife and I just finished seasons 1 and 2 of Veronica Mars, thanks UteStar, this past week. We started them about a week and a half before just streaming one episode after another. So the answer is yes it is on demand if they have it.

[falafel]

Curious about netflix...if I do the $8.99 monthly, I get one movie at a time. If I stream it on a Friday night and finish it, can I stream another movie right after it or is there a time issue or how does that work?

You can stream as much content as you want on the $8.99 plan. One dvd at a time only refers to the dvds you get in the mail. Unlimited streaming is included in that plan.

I've noticed that other cheaper plans, including the $4.99 plan, have restrictions on the number of hours you can stream each month. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price for an unlimited streaming plan go up as the instant streaming library grows.

[falafel]

My wife and I just finished seasons 1 and 2 of Veronica Mars, thanks UteStar, this past week. We started them about a week and a half before just streaming one episode after another. So the answer is yes it is on demand if they have it.

And they have all three VM seasons for streaming! Such a great show. Too bad Party Down is no longer available.

[SteelBlue]

Really? Are you talking only about netflix instant streaming or their DVD service too, because there are about a million movies and tv shows that I can't stream right now. In fact, it seems like whenever I think of something I'd like to stream right now and I search for it, they don't have it. They don't even have all the older movies, like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, or Goonies! They do have Karate Kid though.

Sorry, I know this is off point for you. However, I think this needs to be considered. Right now netflix is a great 2nd option for me, but it just can't satisfy everything I need. And if it ever got to the point where it could stream just about everything I wanted to watch, I have a feeling it wouldn't be as cheap as it is now. Certainly not the $8.99 a month I'm paying.

That's a good point streaming is still limited. I wonder what the cost would be if all content was streaming? If they could stream it all for $30/month I'd still be tempted to drop satellite. I'm paying over $100/month for directv and find that I watch netflix far more.

[UteStar]

You can stream as much content as you want on the $8.99 plan. One dvd at a time only refers to the dvds you get in the mail. Unlimited streaming is included in that plan.

I've noticed that other cheaper plans, including the $4.99 plan, have restrictions on the number of hours you can stream each month. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price for an unlimited streaming plan go up as the instant streaming library grows.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I can understand some movies not available thru streaming, but how about tv shows. Are last years tv shows usually available, for example: Last season's Lost or last season's Mad Men or stuff like that or are they usually only available thru dvd mailings?

Glad to hear SCcoug, Veronica Mars simply rocks.

[falafel]

That's a good point streaming is still limited. I wonder what the cost would be if all content was streaming? If they could stream it all for $30/month I'd still be tempted to drop satellite. I'm paying over $100/month for directv and find that I watch netflix far more.

I agree with that. I'd even pay $40 a month if I could stream everything. Of course, that sounds like just saying "I'd like to pay $40 a month for cable + my DVR. That'd be great!"

[Surfah]

It only costs Netflix about $0.05 a SD movie to stream. A few pennies more for HD.

[falafel]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I can understand some movies not available thru streaming, but how about tv shows. Are last years tv shows usually available, for example: Last season's Lost or last season's Mad Men or stuff like that or are they usually only available thru dvd mailings?

Glad to hear SCcoug, Veronica Mars simply rocks.

It really depends on the network, I believe. All 5 previous seasons of Lost are available to stream, but the final season is not. I think all prior 30 Rock season and the Office seasons on there too. But there are no Mad Men seasons for streaming. Also, Showtime has a lot of their series (most?) available to stream, but HBO has none that I can find. Fox has quite of few, including Bones and Family Guy, but I doubt there are any Simpsons. Hmmm.

[cougjunkie]

We use Netflix a ton, I do wish they had more content to stream.

I think the future with TV will be 3d programming. That is the next step.

[SteelBlue]

I agree with that. I'd even pay $40 a month if I could stream everything. Of course, that sounds like just saying "I'd like to pay $40 a month for cable + my DVR. That's be great!"

Netflix streaming is the closest thing to the a la carte system I've dreamed about for years. Cable/Satellite has resisted that kind of programming forever but maybe this Netflix model will make it inevitable.