
Netflix to get its own ‘cable channel’ next week - 3minus1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/04/24/netflix-to-become-real-tv-and-get-its-own-cable-channel-next-week/?hpid=z5
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tantalor
Title could not be worse. Netflix will not be a channel. You need a Netflix
subscription and a TiVo. This deal is only working around some bizarre
business constraints around streaming video.

The only interesting part here is watching Netflix "without switching remotes
or inputs", which frankly is a sign of how desperate cable providers are to
keep subscribers locked in to their STB model.

~~~
donpdonp
The article describes a regular cable channel. I can image Netflix taking its
content, and 'scheduling' a 24/7 video stream that plays over a cable TV
channel. Its funny to think of Netflix content as "appointment TV" since it
was Netflix that went so far with "anytime TV".

~~~
SifJar
From my reading of the article, there will be a specific channel (450), but
tuning to that channel will simply launch the Netflix app. Rather than
navigating some seperate interface for launching the app, you just switch to
channel to launch it. It's still on-demand content, just the app appears as a
"normal" channel.

~~~
ctdonath
That's important for the many millions who haven't ventured beyond the "TV
model". They don't grasp (and don't want to) anything other than "turn on TV,
change to channel X". The "watch what you want when you want" then becomes an
extension of the standard model, instead of something fearfully (to them)
different.

~~~
omh
I'm sure that's part of their thinking.

But note that this is only on TiVos, so many (most?) of the consumers will
already be used to the idea of HDD recording and series links. Once I got a
TiVo it wasn't long before I got into the habit of hitting "My Shows" rather
than channel hopping.

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gagege
"...you would pick up your remote control, you would tune to Channel 450, and
there you'd find Netflix. You'd select it and that'll launch the Netflix app.
Literally, watching Netflix is as easy as changing the channel."

 _facepalm_

That's some bad old-fashioned UI right there.

~~~
sanderjd
It may seem a bit crazy to us, but I think it is a brilliant stepping-stone
into a (really big) market of people who 1) watch a lot of TV and 2) have
shown that they don't really grok Netflix's new-fangled user experience. My
parents still switch back and forth between three shows to avoid commercials.
They often do this for hours a night. They have a fully configured Roku and
Chromecast boxes, and they use their smart phones more than I do, but they
still reach for the cable remote instead of the Roku remote or Netflix app on
their phone.

It's a good lesson to learn: good user _experience_ has a lot to do with
understanding what users you're targeting and how best to do so.

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ForHackernews
Good news! RCN is actually a tiny, upstart cable company that competes
directly against Comcast (in certain markets, anyway):
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCN_Corporation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCN_Corporation)

And they're pretty fast:
[http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa](http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa)
(click "INCLUDE SMALLER ISPS")

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e28eta
This seems like just an extension of Netflix's desire to be on every device
hooked up to a TV. They've been building apps for TVs, BluRay, Roku, AppleTV,
etc for years. The cable box is another device, so they want to be on it.

I think this is a little interesting because Netflix and Cable companies are
seen as competition today, so I imagine there's been some resistance.

I don't know if the streaming rights modification is that relevant, except as
a reminder of how convoluted those agreements must be.

~~~
stcredzero
Cable should stop seeing themselves as being "competitors in a different
industry." They are in the same industry, just with new mediums appearing.
Watching what you want when you want is clearly the future. Carrying forward
the technical restrictions of analog broadcast is simply insane, if you step
back and look at it.

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maccard
A lot of people in here comment on how this is not tghat big. I have a netflix
sub, and every time I visit my parents, they want to watch it, and use it.
They don't use it when I'm not there because they can't figure it out. It's an
app on a new TV, and is literally 2 or 3 button clicks away. If netflix was
channel 500 or something on our TV box they would happily pay for it.remember
that not everyone is as technically inclined as we are.

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jcampbell1
Here is what I think happened. Netflix has "new media" rights to the content.
They can't play the content over cable. Some cable companies provide a TiVo as
a cable box, and Netflix works on TiVos.

This presents a legal problem: is playing netflix on a cable company's tivo
box "cable"? Well no, but they probably had to get the content providers to
agree. Now that the content providers agree, the Netflix app can be installed
on these cable company provided Tivos.

I am speculating, but the article makes no sense otherwise.

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omh
This has been available in the UK for a while (on Virgin Media TiVo boxes, the
only cable supplier here).

I don't have a Netflix subscription so I haven't tried it properly, but the
integration with TiVo is good. If you're browsing an actor and find a film, as
well as any upcoming TV showings it will give you the option to launch it from
Netflix.

It's obviously a big move away from the major TV channels, but (in the UK at
least) I think the big money is in the sports channels and Netflix isn't
competing with them there.

