aNewDomain.net — Netflix is a service that provides a great selection of obscure documentaries and reruns and has a new colorful feather in its hat. Original content. Endless catch up on Breaking Bad, Archer and The League has been a daily-content-consumption habit for me at Pruitt Manor.
I was watching merrily and along came House of Cards (U.S.) and Orange Is the New Black. Two original series produced by Netflix for its subscribers. Now that the online video provider has pocketed an Emmy or three for its trophy case, what looms on the horizon? Netflix is in direct competition with other online subscription services, and of course traditional cable networks.
What will we see from Netflix in the future?
Image credits: Ant Pruitt for aNewDomain
Cut the Cord
For the cord cutter in me, I sure hope Netflix is on to bigger and better things and we can break ties with expensive cable companies.
Cable and satellite providers offer services to view content, but in my opinion the price is too expensive and hardly justified anymore. The old argument of à la carte services will not go away, but it’s not likely to be addressed. Why would I want to pay for the Lifetime channel, CNN or Nick Jr. if all I want is ESPN? That’s the service I’m willing to actually pay for!
Can Netflix and other video providers ride this momentum into changing the way we consume television?
Note that Netflix now touts that 38 percent of Americans use its service. And that’s up from 31 percent a year ago. How can the growing company lure more consumers into the fold so that we can all eventually cut the cord? What type of deals can be made to continue a strong line of original content, such as House of Cards?
I wonder if top-tier actors and actresses will consider non-cable programming now that critical success was bestowed upon Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and the cast/crew in general. What’s stopping them? The next season of House of Cards is expected to launch February 2014.
Amazon’s Prime service is also giving original content a shot, grabbing great writers and actors like John Goodman to star in its endeavors. Hopefully these pilot episodes — shown below — will launch soon and create a ripple effect, encouraging other writers and actors to get on board.
Image credit: Ant Pruitt for aNewDomain
I’ve said before on a Yet Another Tech Show podcast that Netflix-esque cord cutting only fixes about 80 percent of my video consumption habits. The other 20 percent, to get me at full-bore-cord-cutting levels, would have to include live sports viewing via the web.
But, as the networks own all the rights to live sports broadcasts, there isn’t a legal option right now. Can a program be created so that the big networks that broadcast sports on television somehow wirelessly stream them to the beautiful cinema displays in our living rooms? That’s the dream for me.
There is a loss of a lot of advertising dollars blocking this from happening, I’m sure. Maybe there’s a middle ground for those of us ready to dump the Time Warner and Comcast cable services of the world. We shall see. Netflix and its online counterparts are making good headway, and in time anything is possible.
If you’re not a cord cutter, why aren’t you? What’s holding you back? I’m curious. Leave a comment below with your thoughts on cord cutting, as well as what original content from services such as Netflix means for the future of content consumption.
I’m Ant Pruitt for aNewDomain.net.
Based in Charlotte, NC, Ant Pruitt is an IT pro, a columnist and the podcast captain at aNewDomain.com. Look for his Smartphone Photographers Community and Yet Another Tech Show. Follow him @ihavnolyfe or on Google+ and email him at Ant@aNewDomain.net. See all Ant’s articles on aNewDomain.net by following this link.
I like this. I am a cord cutter. I think it is ridiculous the price of cable and that whole industry. I applaud the new approach to television and movie watching. The sports issue is something to truly think about. I love to watch sports but I can find other ways to view them. It is all about looking outside the box. Everything always comes back to money and more money and more money which kind of pisses me off. I think the whole cable issue is just part of a bigger issue of having more than we need. We are such consumers and it is creating an even stronger mentality of the more you have the happier you are. LIES…that is all lies. It is not sustainable happiness. It is the momentary happiness. Cable boast that you need to have all these channels or you are missing out on everything. How many of those channels are watched on the regular…8 maybe 10. We only think we need more because people are giving us more. I am willing to pay for something that deserves to be paid for. I don’t want my stuff for free necessarily and if I am the one paying for it and it is something like entertainment, I want to have the ability to customize it to me and not be penalized for doing so. I do think that there will always be the “old school” consumers but I for one would like to see more of a shift in the tide. What I fear is that Netflix and others will get caught up in their success and need up right where Time Warner and Comcast are today, too big for their britches. Nothing is going to change until businesses stick to the idea of taking care of their customers first. The money will follow. Seriously, when you are talking big bucks anyways, what is it to them? You can’t spend all the money they have unless it is on crap like gold towel seats. That just leads me right back to we have more than we need and we think we deserve it. It’s all about the money, money, money…!!!
That is a little bit of my perspective!!!
I love this comment! Thank you for your perspective!
-RAP, II
I love my cable…I would rather have my cell phone cut off than risk loosing my cable. I am addict I got to have it!
Thanks for reading and your comment, Shannon!
I agree about losing my telephone. ;)
-RAP, II