Netflix on global spree Netflix is bullish about its international expansion strategy and will be aggressively rolling out the platform to more territories and acquiring rights for global content, according to chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “We have been in Canada over a year and have now surpassed BitTorrent as the biggest carrier of digital …
So much US TV is crap. I've really been enjoying having access to Canadian, Australian and UK TV via Netflix. I wonder if that's a case of "grass is always greener." Do Canadians think Canadian TV is crap and hunger for US TV? Do Australians think Australian TV is crap and hunger for Canadian TV?
I'm not sure I'm representative, but I am Australian and I think Australian TV is crap.
Then again, I think US TV is crap, and UK TV is crap. Not sure that I can identify any Canadian TV. Of course most of what gets aired in Australian is US TV anyway and the *only* reason they air any Australian TV (ok, apart from what passes as "news") is because there are Laws requiring them to air x% of local content.
And if I'm allowed to say that anything in a languange that I don't understand is crap ... there goes most of the rest of the world. I am partial to some of the Japanese shows ... the ones that don't really need subtitles anyway.
"When we have conversations with TV buyers the first thing they ask is how do we access the digital rights,” he said. Sarandos dismissed concerns about piracy, saying that “consumers don’t really want to pirate. What they want is a great service and easy delivery."
Factually accurate statements are a dangerous area in the world of digital rights management....
I think most TV, that is to say the majority of what fills the schedule in any given day, is crap. Crap I wouldn't watch, but others would. I would expect this to be the same in any country.
The idea that I can watch what I want, when I want and not have to pick and choose what to record from the schedule is much better as long as it isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg.
Every time I look at signing up for a video streaming service in the UK I am put off by the cost. It also comes bundled with disc rentals by post... I don't want to rent films/TV series by post, I want to stream them for a reasonable flat monthly fee.
Price will be key. I'm in Australia, and my cable company wants to charge $3 for a 20-minute TV episode. I did it once to see if it worked, won't be doing it again unless the price becomes more reasonable.
Netflix streaming is a great deal, provided you can get it. Expect Australia will be last on the list of target markets, we're too small and the TV business has all the content locked up in long-term contracts.
Unlike quite a few UK and US ISPs, in Australia we tend to have a cap on the amount you can download in a month. That means you need to factor that into the "price" of Netflix rentals ... or any other "on demand" service here in Oz.
<sarcasm>And let's not forget our lightning-fast network speeds</sarcasm>
"Mostly, no accusations of being a criminal"
Enjoy it while you can.
Based on how tech companies are now preferring to sue end-users of products which supposedly infringe their patents, how long before media companies go after the end-user of any service which supposedly infringes copyright?
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