The Cost Of Permission Culture: Or Why Netflix Streaming Library Sucks Compared To Its DVD Library
Sometimes it's difficult to find the concrete costs of living in a permission culture, but the decline of Netflix's selection is an important cautionary tale.
Via Techdirt:
Why can't movie-streaming sites deliver the selection of movies that customers obviously want? This was the question posed by a recent New York Times column, comparing undersupplied services like Netflix with unauthorized platforms like Popcorn Time. The answer, the Times explains, is windowing—the industry practice of selling exclusivity periods to certain markets and platforms, with the result of staggered launches.
But the Times fails to ask a more fundamental question: why do streaming sites have to listen to Hollywood's windowing demands in the first place? After all, while it's clear wh...