

Verizon Considers Buying Netflix - dekayed
http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/12/12/report-verizon-mulling-netflix-buy/

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tiles
I won't hesitate to add "I hope not" because of the obvious implications of
Verizon absorbing an otherwise useful service.

It seems disingenuous to portrays Netflix as though it were in legitimate
trouble as a business. Netflix has certainly had mishaps and a loss of
subscribers; but I don't think that's inclination to suspect that they are
looking to jump ship. Selling (and tying) themselves to Verizon would just
leave a vacuum for another agnostic service to replace it.

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jallmann
Absolutely not. Data carriers should not be able to supply any content over
its pipes. There is already precedent restricting vertical integration -- see
the United States v. Paramount Pictures
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pict...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pictures,_Inc.)).

That would also seemingly invalidate most of the cable TV industry, but in
that case, you're arguably paying for the TV feed (which just happens to be
carried over cable), rather than the cable itself (which is what you pay for
with Internet access). Same argument applies to the public switched telephone
network. You're paying for voice service, not the infrastructure; that is why
'data' is a separate line item on your cellular bill.

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rabidsnail
Verizon already provides cable TV service.

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jallmann
And? As I said -- when you pay for cable TV, you're paying for the TV feed.
Netflix is VOD carried over IP. The power company doesn't try to sell you
energy-guzzling AC units.

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sukuriant
Honestly, I don't see the difference between Cable (video not-so-on-demand)
over the FiOS wires and Video on Demand over an IP over the FiOS wires.

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jallmann
Ignoring the _huge_ technical differences, it boils down to net neutrality.
Other services could be throttled in favor of Verizon's, much as the carriers
were screeching over VoIP apps few years ago.

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sukuriant
How is that different from throttling all content-over-ip services in favor of
their television service? I still don't see how, with regard to the
grandparent's post, providing TV and on demand streaming is different.

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jallmann
They already throttle, to some extent. Bandwidth and speed caps, which may or
may not apply to a Verizon-owned Netflix. Then things like preferential QoS
come into the picture. Also see the peripheral dispute between Level3 and
Comcast, due to the bandwidth imposed by Netflix.

I reckon things will get worse before they get better as more people start
cutting all cords except for the Internet.

I don't need phone service, I don't need TV. But I need the Internet. I would
prefer if my ISP were simply an ISP (then it could compete solely on the
merits ISPs should be judged by), but I will not tolerate it if they try to
interfere with my access by squeezing more dollars out of me for services I'd
rather get elsewhere.

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1010011010
Might as well read: "Verizon Considers Destroying Netflix"

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rwolf
I'm nervous the only thing good enough for me to pay for on the internet will
go away. I will have to spend that $7 on coffee again, I guess.

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ansy
Verizon is a good partner for Netflix. No product overlap and great synergy.
Verizon will get a leg up for the next generation of TV which will sell itself
with home and mobile data plans while Netflix will get oodles of capital and
improved digital delivery costs. The capital is what Netflix really needs if
it wants to spin up premium TV shows at $100 million a pop to compete with
HBO. [1]

The DVD business probably doesn't do as much for Verizon. Thankfully that's
already profitable and Verizon would be getting it for free after Netflix's
failed divorce tanked its valuation.

I don't think antitrust will be a real issue. The courts have been fairly
permissive such as with NBC and Comcast. If anything, Verizon and Netflix is
more like Comcast and Xfinity.

[1] [http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/netflixs-
ch...](http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/netflixs-chief-sees-
hbo-as-its-main-rival/)

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wickedchicken
> great synergy

you don't work for verizon by any chance, do you?

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MichaelApproved
What an awful idea. Netflix had to make some bad deals that it now has to live
with. They'd also have to deal with the dying DVD business that has nothing to
do with Verizon's business model. They'd likely have to find a buyer for that
and spin it off. Maybe that's what Netflix was trying to prepare for with
quikster.

Netflix owns nothing. Any exclusivity is small and worth very little. There is
no value there. If you're a streaming customer, there's nothing keeping you
with them once someone comes out with a competing service at a lower price.

Netflix is a distributor that can easily be replaced by any of the big guys:
iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. If Verizon wants to get into this game, they
should partner with a big guy who can build the distribution network for them.

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ramidarigaz
> Netflix owns nothing.

Except for customers and a well known brand.

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MichaelApproved
Customers who have no loyalty.

There's nothing keeping a customer from jumping ship if Amazon creates a
similar service at the same or lower price. There's no contract, no setup fee,
no hardware that becomes useless with a new provider. They own nothing that's
worth buying at anywhere near their current valuation.

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erikwiffin
Amazon has created a similar service for a lower price.

Amazon Prime gives you unlimited access to a large part of their video
catalog. For $79 a year instead of Netflix's $7.99 * 12.

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MichaelApproved
Amazon's service will eventually be similar, if not superior, but right now
their limited content keeps them from truly competing with Netflix.

I believe Amazon is simply using this as an opportunity to learn the ins and
outs while also ramping up their capacity to stream.

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mmurph211
"Citing a source close to the matter" - I wonder how much Netflix stock this
source had before leaking the story. Don't hedge funds stir rumor for their
own gain?

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joeybaker
Seems like this news falls squarely in the "someone's got to" area. Verizon
might not be the ideal buyer, but Netflix has run into the dual problems of
bandwidth and IP restrictions. They could really use a corporate parent to
fight their way through.

Verizon could really help on the bandwidth side, but companies like Comcast,
Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon could all help on the IP side.

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aidenn0
Aren't they already in the movie streaming business via FiOS?

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Bo102010
I would guess that lots of FiOS customers also subscribe to Netflix (and maybe
don't understand the FiOS streaming interface). So why not give in and try to
capture that?

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slimshady
I hope netflix doesn't commit yet another blunder. Though verizon would
benefit enormously by this deal, the end users are at risk of locking in with
verizon.

