
New Arrested Development will appear exclusively on Netflix Streaming - amandle
http://netflixstreaming.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-arrested-development-netflix.html
======
ansy
This is great that Netflix is being bold. Netflix needs to be bold. The
networks own the studios that produce all of the content and will continue to
use that to keep Netflix under heel.

Arrested Development certainly has risk though. It's impossible to pick up
where the show left off six years ago.

Hopefully if this succeeds Netflix will consider following up by reviving
Better Off Ted. A similar, critically acclaimed, and more recent show with
actors that seem generally available.

~~~
cyanbane
If that IS their biz model I personally would love it. I don't watch much TV,
but what I do watch is usually in bulk via a 3rd party streaming service and a
year or five late. If Netflix started bringing other titles that were
cancelled too soon like Firefly, Deadwood, etc with the budget of HBO and the
postsight of watching the net for sleeper hits that were cancelled, you can
count me in.

~~~
tomjen3
That would definitely be awesome, but it also seems very expensive. Hbo cost a
lot more than netflix jet their target audience is usually much wider. Finally
hbo, in my mind at least is as much a certificate of great tv as it is a
channel. This is not the case for netflix.

~~~
bmelton
That wasn't the case for AMC before "Mad Men". Now, in addition to "Mad Men",
they have "The Walking Dead", "Breaking Bad" and "Hell on Wheels". Even more
than that, they have my guarantee that I will at least try a few episodes of
any AMC original show that comes out.

You're right that Netflix would have to build an audience, but if they are
able to create exceptional quality shows, as HBO and AMC have done, then they
can very print that certificate very quickly (within a couple of years).

------
angli
I loved Arrested Development, and I'm glad that it's coming back, but I'm not
sure this is a good move for Netflix. If this idea picks up steam, Netflix
becomes a competitor to the networks and their relationships get worse. Heaven
knows they're tense enough already. It seems likely that others may pull their
content, as Starz recently did, lessening Netflix's appeal. So yes, in the
short run they'll gain subscribers, but I don't think this outweighs the major
risks this poses in the long run.

~~~
danilocampos
The flawed premise here is that the networks will continue to matter.

They won't. Their days are numbered.

Building the future is hard and it's messy. Netflix has been taking it on the
chin this year as they've passed through a really rough patch.

In the end, though, I'd put money on Netflix existing in 2020 before I would
any given broadcast network. TV is dead.

Netflix is trying to redefine distribution. They're not going to win by
placating the dinosaurs of distribution's past. If the Arrested Development
deal works out, production companies may see that they have new options for
financing their projects and might get better opportunities to reach an
audience than they'd ever get on TV.

So it's simple: take the issue by the balls and control your destiny or bow
and scrape before moronic suits who don't understand technology, hoping and
praying that they won't change their minds each time a licensing deal expires.

~~~
yequalsx
I don't think Netflix will be around as an independent company for more than 5
years. Netflix doesn't have a single advantage save one. It has an installed
user base. I'm a Netflix user but I wouldn't think twice about switching to
another company. I'm on the verge of using Amazon Prime and ditching Netflix.
I think even the installed user base isn't much of an advantage.

Netflix's streaming isn't more innovative and Google's streaming or Amazon's
streaming. Netflix's advantage used to be to get people DVDs cheaply and
quickly. That's not an advantage to take them into the future. Unless they can
find a way to stream movies cheaper than Amazon I don't see how they can
survive as an independent.

I think Microsoft should buy Netflix and B&N to compete with Apple, Amazon,
and Google in the tablet/content space. As an independent company they are
dead in the water.

EDIT: fixed typos

~~~
ericd
Customer base is a BIG advantage if they're going to start signing up original
content. They're playing to their strengths. Amazon is large, but Netflix is
massively larger in terms of watchers. As a producer, which would you sign up
with?

~~~
seanalltogether
Whoever gives you the most money.

~~~
ericd
I don't think so. A lot of producers/actors don't like playing to an empty
room, even if they're being paid well. It's too demoralizing.

------
SwellJoe
I predicted this would happen when Starz pulled their programming. Given how
much Netflix is paying for content, they can produce several pretty high end
shows, which makes them a direct competitor to HBO, Showtime, etc. But, they
have a _much_ better delivery method, from the consumer perspective. This was
a no-brainer, and good on Netflix for recognizing the opportunity that
Arrested Development presents for them. It's relatively cheap to produce, has
huge marketing value, and has a cult-like following that will sign up for
Netflix specifically for access to these new episodes.

~~~
ansy
Netflix bought House of Cards back in March bidding against HBO and AMC [1].
Less than a week later CBS, parent company of Showtime, announced it would
pull Showtime content from Netflix even though the contract wasn't going to
expire until the summer [2]. No negotiation or warning to Netflix, just "FYI,
we're out, thanks." HBO just flat out refuses to license any of its content to
Netflix or anyone else for that matter.

And it's not like Netflix isn't willing to pay. Netflix paid $30 million per
movie for exclusive early access with Dreamworks. Previously HBO held the
contract for only $20 million per movie [3].

Media companies are just telling Netflix to flat out screw off or at best pay
a ridiculous sum that nobody else would be expected to pay. Each one has a
different threshold. HBO has zero tolerance. Starz had quite a bit up to a
point. But eventually they all put on the brakes to keep Netflix in check.

[1] [http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2011/03/netflix-locks-
down...](http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2011/03/netflix-locks-down-house-
of-cards-exclusive-for-late-2012.ars)

[2] [http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/23/cbs-will-remove-some-
showtime-...](http://www.bgr.com/2011/03/23/cbs-will-remove-some-showtime-
shows-from-netflix/)

[3] [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/netflix-
sec...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/netflix-secures-
streaming-deal-with-dreamworks.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all)

~~~
keithwinstein
Time Warner is trying to sign people up for their subscription service (HBO)
-- is it really in their interest to license their content to a competing
subscription service?

~~~
bluedanieru
It's in their interest to get as many people to pay for their content as they
can, and one would think that multiple channels of distribution would be a
means to that end.

It's obvious why they don't want to, of course. If they control distribution,
the theory goes, they can charge basically whatever they want. And of course
they can control _legal_ distribution quite easily, but that's not enough, is
it?

------
modeless
And for the first time, people will actually care about breaking Netflix
Streaming's DRM. Anyone want to guess how long it'll last? I'm thinking it'll
be up on the Pirate Bay the day of release.

~~~
dmix
It will be on Torrent/usenet sites within 15min of airing. Pirate groups have
this stuff down.

Its not much harder to capture netflix than any other live show.

You can buy $100 capture cards and record live gaming. DRM isnt an issue since
you dont even need to crack the source.

~~~
westicle
And thank god it will... being an avid AD fan outside the US I would otherwise
have no access to it.

If Ron Howard wants to throw up a donation button somewhere for all us
internationals I'll gladly chip in though :)

------
chrismsnz
Looks like those outside US are reduced, yet again, to grey-market solutions.

~~~
corin_
Just like standard US shows, it will air to the US first, and international TV
stations (or internet streaming services) can bid on the right to air it,
nearly always at a later date.

~~~
lurch_mojoff
Which is compltely idiotic business model for Netflix. They can sell their
original content directly to me. Unlike traditional TV content producers, they
don't have to rely on (and split profits with) third party distributors.

I suspect you are right, but I sure as hell hope you are not.

~~~
tomjen3
It hardly matters - at this point everybody under the age of 30 torrent it
anyway (or get it from usenet).

The copyright battle has been lost for a long, long time now.

~~~
fauldsh
That's like saying Spotify should never have tried because "everybody under
the age of 30 torrent it anyway".

------
tomkinstinch
This bodes well for Netflix and their new business model.

I hope that the programs they produce will be free of advertising.

~~~
jwallaceparker
>> I hope that the programs they produce will be free of advertising.

Agreed. They should be, right?

Nothing annoys me more than paying for a movie ticket and sitting through 10
minutes of commercials before a film.*

I would hope after the customer backlash over the pricing change that Netflix
will be smart enough to stay away from commercials.

* Drivers who camp out in the left lane annoy me slightly more. "Stay right except to pass."

~~~
rudiger
I _like_ movie previews. Am I the only one?

~~~
carbocation
I would be more tolerant if there were 2 listed times: (1) when the previews
will begin; (2) when the movie will begin.

~~~
MichaelApproved
What do you do about getting good seats? If you show up just as the movie is
starting, you're probably going to get bad seats.

~~~
tomjen3
Most seats are numbered except in smaller cinemas.

~~~
barrkel
If you have pre-allocated seating, the cinema may have to employ people to
ensure people are sitting in the right place (at least, people will want
someone to complain to if someone else stole their seat).

But more importantly, pre-allocated seats encourages people to show up late to
the screening and miss the ads and trailers, and potentially even miss out on
the concession stand. If you don't have pre-allocated seats, you need to turn
up early to be assured of a good seat; and what are you going to do in the
(initially darkened) cinema waiting by yourself, if not consume some snacks
that you bought.

The cinemas around me (London) charge extra for the privilege of pre-
allocation.

~~~
Aqwis
> If you have pre-allocated seating, the cinema may have to employ people to
> ensure people are sitting in the right place (at least, people will want
> someone to complain to if someone else stole their seat).

Is this really a problem? All cinemas in Norway (that I know of) have pre-
allocated seating, but there is never anybody who ensures that people sit in
the right place. If you find that someone is sitting in your seat, you simply
tell them to move. I've never heard of anyone refusing to move.

~~~
randallsquared
> All cinemas in Norway (that I know of) have pre-allocated seating

I've watched movies in cinemas all over North America, and the only one that
ever had numbered seating was a dinner-and-a-movie place where your seat was
used to keep track of your order.

~~~
uxp
Nearly all the "stadium" seating theaters around me in Utah use numbered
seating for every movie for at least it's first opening week, but they're
largely all owned by one guy (well, his corporation, as he personally passed
away a few years ago). It's more of a courtesy so larger families and groups
can manage to pick up seats together, but it's still enforced if it needs to
be.

------
bherms
Bold move, but also a crucial blow to cable television.

------
jackvalentine
I hope Netflix licences this out in countries they don't serve.

~~~
mkr-hn
Syndication of Netflix-produced shows will probably become one of their big
money makers if this works out.

------
jasomill
Hopefully they'll buck current trends and offer episodic content for $1 or so
per episode to non-subscribers. Content available "exclusively" to subscribers
is a customer-hostile model, as, e.g., Apple and Amazon seem to realize.

~~~
tfb
Whoa that's actually an awesome idea. I've never thought of something like
that before. And I'm sure someone else has actually already attempted it but I
wonder why it isn't widespread. The only reason I can think of is maybe the
networks just don't offer a solid enough deal for it to be reasonable and
profitable, at least for smaller startups. I bet the big boys like Netflix and
Hulu could work something out though.

------
joejohnson
I hope there will be an easy conduit for these episodes to appear on torrent
trackers.

~~~
xsmasher
I hope there isn't. Sounds like you're a fan, but either don't want to pay the
creators, or don't approve of their choice of distribution? That doesnt give
you a moral or legal right to stiff them.

~~~
tomjen3
Arrogant nationalist. Not everyone is American and and for that reason gets
screwed from everything from current tv (yeah I like to see shows 3 years
after they were current) to innovative things like netflix, hulu and even
iTunes tv show store.

~~~
xsmasher
It will probably come to DVD or be distributed on another channel in your
country. If not, it still doesn't grant you a moral or legal right to the
content.

If you pirate instead of paying then you make distributing to your country
unprofitable; that sounds like the opposite effect from what you want.

~~~
babebridou
Who says anything about paying/not paying? The point is, if you're waiting for
an official distribution outside of the US, 99% of the fan websites become
complete spoilers.

You can't be a dedicated fan of a US show outside the US and thoroughly enjoy
it without pirating it first (...and then, buy the DVD). The only other option
is to only watch DVDs and never talk with anyone online about the show, for
fear of spoilers.

Didn't they learn anything from the Phantom Menace fiasco? The movie was the
first highly and universally anticipated movie since highspeed internet became
available. It was released 5 months later in France. It was a total fiasco.
Instant surge of piracy, a specific screener became widespread and the only
way for Star Wars fan to "survive" a five-months online lockout from their
passion. This event was the origin of worldwide releases of blockbusters by
movie studios, and the reason why movies nowadays get translated/localized
before they are released in their own countries.

~~~
xsmasher
"Spoilers" or inconvenience don't give you a right to the content either.

The studio has to weigh the benefits of a worldwide launch (possibly reduced
piracy?) against the benefits of a staggered launch (ability to pay for and
schedule proper promotion, localization, and advertising in each market.)
Sometimes the studio makes the wrong choice, ether the wrong economic one or
the one you don't like, but that's their prerogative.

Meta: I'm surprised be the amount of piracy entitlement on HN, which I expect
has more content creators than the average net audience.

~~~
babebridou
When a particular product hits home, people feel robbed for not being able to
buy it on the spot for any reason, especially when shipping and manufacturing
costs are close to zero. Indeed, it really is the other way around, and it
will never be otherwise, but it doesn't change the fact that some of your
paying customers will be dissatisfied by your service to the point that they
will take action to bypass your own faulty distribution channel, and they will
even pay to be able to do that.

Heck, let's drop the masks, the majority of your paying customers even bought
their very first computer just to be able to do that over the past decade.

I'm not advocating piracy, I'm explaining why it exists in the first place.
When the pirated product is available immediately instead of months/years
later, and with better features than the legit one, it's foolish to expect
even paying fans not to pirate things nor look into piracy as a distribution
channel. This is a challenge that content distributors need to deal with, one
way or another.

Saying that people shouldn't pirate digital goods because it's illegal is all
nice and well, but is this even enforceable? It's my own humble belief that
it's not, not with the current state of the art, and that yelling at piracy is
like yelling at windmills. Just deal with it and improve your product
distribution in every possible way so that piracy is not exactly a better
option.

It works, Apple proved it, Steam proved it.

------
marquis
What is stopping Netflix from offering content internationally? I'm sure there
are several layers of bureaucracy here, from Hollywood requirements,
syndication etc. It would be interesting to know what steps/changes need to be
taken to open this service up for the rest of us.

------
ptrn
If the new Attested Development really takes off, Netflix will have a
syndication opportunity to trade with the networks. It reminds me of the
patent wars; build up your collection so you can horse-trade when necessary...

------
eogas
The source article appears to have been modified to imply that it will not be
exclusive to Netflix.

EDIT: Other sources seem to be indicating that it will indeed be exclusive.

------
teyc
This isn't a good deal for the show though. By doing an exclusive it is going
to kill their long term audience, leaving Netflix free to poach another show.

------
serge2k
The whole "US Member" thing has me nervous.

Might end up just downloading it. Not waiting if they decide to screw over
Canada.

------
tomsaffell
p(viewer loves Arrest Development | viewer has netflix) > p(viewer loves
Arrest Development) ?

~~~
jerf
This is better understood as a strategic move, not a tactical one. It's not
about Arrested Development _qua_ Arrested Development, it's about not needing
Fox, and not Fox _qua_ Fox either but Fox as a particular instance of the
general category of television channels.

~~~
tomsaffell
Yes, that probably & hopefully is their strategy. But is it mere co-incidence
that their first major play of that strategy is for a show that is well loved
by geeks? My guess is that the above probability does hold true, and that's
part of the reason that this particular show is a going first.

~~~
icandoitbetter
The above probability does not hold true.

~~~
ianferrel
Netflix and Arrested Development watchers both skew young and urban. I'd be
surprised if it didn't hold true.

What makes you think it doesn't?

------
plasma
How will I get to watch this from Australia?

We can't get Netflix here.

~~~
brianbreslin
I think netflix is expanding to australia soon. Streaming only though, no dvd-
by-mail. they recently expanded into south america and europe.

------
awolf
Deadwood, anyone?

~~~
davesims
Yes, please! And Firefly...

------
MrEnigma
Well havin just cancelled Netflix, I may have to get it again, at least for a
month.

------
quinndupont
I'll be sure to watch it on pirate streaming/BitTorrent once it comes out.

