Netflix Now Only Has 31 Movies From IMDB's Top 250 List (streamingobserver.com) 181
According to Streaming Observer News, the quality and quantity of Netflix's movie library has declined over the last two years when cross-referenced with IMDB's Top 250 movies list. From the report: Well, it's a pretty common fact at this point that Netflix's library is shrinking. Of course, what Netflix needs to do as it shrinks its licensed movie library is make sure that movies it does have are good ones. But according to our analysis, it's going backwards, unfortunately. A while back we noticed a post from this Reddit member who, two years ago, cross-referenced the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) top 250 movies list with Netflix's movie library to find out how many of the top movies Netflix carried. When u/clayton_frisbie posted his list on Reddit, Netflix had 49 of the Top 250 movies on the IMDB list. That's just under 20 percent, which isn't terrible. But we wondered how that number has held up over the last two years in the face of a quickly shrinking library. So we reran the analysis. How many of the top 250 movies does Netflix now have? As of September 2016, that number has dropped to 31, or about 12 percent. [You can view the list via Streaming Observer News.]
There is an old saying in business (Score:1)
You gotta spend money to make money.
Paying for licenses is expensive, but if you can make money doing it then of course you would. So either Netflix is making a terrible mistake, or there is a difficulty in turning a profit with these license costs in an all-you-can-eat sort of plan that Netflix offers its customers.
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
Or there is not a difficulty in turning a profit without paying the license costs, so they don't pay them.
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
So, I want to see a particular movie tonight, let's see, it's not on Netflix... iTunes will only sell it but not rent it... what other services are there... ah, found it, Bittorrent.
Why does the MPAA keep trying so hard to push us into piracy? Jeez, I actually switched from being a pirate to wanting to rent movies fair and square, and then I get all this "not available in your area" bullshit. OK, you got your chance, bye!
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
Or maybe Netflix's algorithms show that we've all seen these movies already and don't watch them again. I mean, Amelie and Inception were interesting, but I would never watch them again.
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:There is an old saying in business (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree. There is no way deadpool should be at 234. It is easily a top 50.
Re: (Score:2)
You are partially right. But top 250 has... 250 movies. Some of those have been there for a couple decades if not more. Those are very good movies, almost none of which are in Netflix's list.
(nice Snowpiercer quote BTW)
Re: (Score:3)
imdb lists(or aims to list) and allows its users to rate, all movies produced at all times at any place.
Re: (Score:2)
Have you seen Zootopia?
It was great, as an over 40 adult. The sloth's running the DMV was genius and makes the entire movie worth a watch.
Deadpool would probably make my top 250 as well, but I wouldn't ever make such an exhaustive list.
Re: (Score:3)
The sloth's running the DMV was genius and makes the entire movie worth a watch.
That bit had me in stitches! I HAVE BEEN THERE!
I think only me and my partner were the only people laughing at that bit. We're in the UK and so don't have the DMV, we have the DVLA in Wales which you interact with via the common remote means, so the joke just didn't strike as true.
Re: (Score:2)
A number of the jokes were funny but not unsurprising (like the sloth dmv).
I found the movie to be an interesting commentary on government corruption and its use of fear to oppress a minority group for its own means.
Re: (Score:2)
The sloth showing up at the end was pretty funny too. I don't want to give spoilers, so won't describe the situation.
Re: (Score:2)
There's also the fact that IMDB's top 250 simply ain't what it used to be. I mean seriously... Deadpool? Zootopia?
I'm going to hazard a guess that you aren't a parent to a kid under 8. I can no longer keep track how many times I've seen Zootopia, but its certainly more often than I've seen Inception.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not sure about Deadpool, but Zootopia absolutely deserves its spot, yet.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Why do you not like Zootopia? Don't you think bunnies are cute? You're a meanie!
Zootopia portrays blackmail and police corruption as being fun and the cool thing to do.
I think you are incredibly devoted and serious in looking for a fault in a kids' movie.
Re: (Score:2)
IMDB top 250 isn't the top 250 movies of the year. It's meant to be the top 250 movies of all time.
Deadpool might make the top 2500. It sure as shit doesn't make the top 250.
Re: (Score:2)
Or maybe Netflix's algorithms show that we've all seen these movies already and don't watch them again.
I've seen every top 250 movie that I care to see, save maybe a few very recent ones. So I'm glad I'm not paying NF to stock movies I won't watch. Give me new material or give me bacon!
Re: (Score:2)
Shrug. Netflix doesn't contain content I want to access, so they don't get my subscription.
Offering a good range of movies would make a massive difference. Shit, I'd pay twice their current fee if they had 10k movies that included the top 1000 as rated on IMDB - and kept it updated within a year of cinema release dates.
I'm spending more than that on a Sky TV subscription a big chunk of which is so that I can access a wide range of films. Most of the suck, some of them are just bloody excellent. Netflix does
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
This is exactly why I dropped Netflix 5 years ago. It was obvious then that they weren't going to spend the money to maintain their current movie collection and I am a big movie fan. I couldn't care less about TV series.
The few TV series that I do like I watch on TV/DVR since I have to pay for the movie channels. Amazon Prime is slowly getting there. But they haven't gotten to the point where their library is big enough.
Re: (Score:2)
I would say there are more people interested in an ever-changing movie database so they can watch movies they haven't seen or movies they haven't seen in a long time, as opposed to your preference that Netflix simply "maintain their current movie collection". They only have finite money, and they learned the very hard way what happens when they increase their rates. So the only choice is to rotate movies and TV shows in and out of their collection.
Re: (Score:2)
yes they have learned that by increasing their rates they make more money. That's why they just raised them again recently.
Re: (Score:3)
I dare bet most people would be interrested in an ever-growing movie database. Ever-changing is something they settle with as a second-best solution. What they're actually getting is ever-cheaper with expensive movies being replaced with cheaper movies. The reality is that the IMDB Top 250 is mostly movies popular with movie buffs; a relatively small group. They don't include many of the movies that are popular with a larger crowd. Guess which type of customers Netflix would prefer; a small group of highly
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Wow! How can I be just like you?
I LOLed.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You gotta spend money to make money.
Paying for licenses is expensive, but if you can make money doing it then of course you would. So either Netflix is making a terrible mistake, or there is a difficulty in turning a profit with these license costs in an all-you-can-eat sort of plan that Netflix offers its customers.
Or the license holders simply aren't allowing movies to be licensed for streaming because their math shows it they would lose money by those movies distracting people from other movies they are letting stream. Could also be that the legal stuff isn't there to allow for streaming, especially for older movies. Hell, there are a lot of movies that made it to VHS but not DVD because the legal stuff isn't there, let alone streaming.
That is not Netflix's plan (Score:3)
Their plan is become original series only. And then they can entirely drop the catalog of movies and shows.
It protects them from getting pinched by sites that have deals with content producers.
However, are people going to be willing to pay Netflix's fees for just the new series?
Re:That is not Netflix's plan (Score:5, Insightful)
The original series are the reason I subscribe, the other stuff is just an added bonus.
Re:That is not Netflix's plan (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I find their "original" stuff mediocre at best. The licensed movies and TV shows were the *only* reason we subscribed to Netflix streaming in the first place.
I'm just waiting for my wife to finish a couple BBC murder mysteries that are still on Netflix... then I'm pulling the streaming plug (will keep the DVD subscription, though - at least for now). Dumb thing is - these all aired on PBS's "Masterpiece", but PBS doesn't seem to include most of their more popular shows in their app (and yes, we still have a
Re:That is not Netflix's plan (Score:5, Funny)
I hope you'lll find something nice to do with that $8/month you're going to save once your wife is done watching 17 seasons of Midsomer Murders. Maybe treat yourself to a nice latte and cupcake?
Re: (Score:2)
Eight dollars here, ten dollars there... eventually it adds up to real money. There's no point in spending it if you aren't getting perceived value from it.
If you're over 35, try a fun little exercise sometime and start adding up the little subscription costs you have now that you didn't have in the 1990s - or that have gone up horrendously since then (like cable TV or perhaps your cell phone bill).
Cell phone prices (Score:2)
Think about this for a minute:
In 1977 may father paid $25 per month for a single line plus any long distance fees (average $45 per month with three teenager in the house) and no access to any on-line stuff because it did not exist. He also paid about .$0.45 per gallon of gas.
Today I pay $150 per month for four phones with unlimited long distance and shared 15GB of data. I pay $2.50 for a gallon of gas. The phone has tripled while gas is five times as expensive.
When compared to other items the price of ph
Re: (Score:2)
As a 36 year old, I would like to point out to you, I paid nothing in 1990, as I was 10 years old.
Re: (Score:1)
I have never watched a single "Netflix Original" show, and have no plans to start.
Re: (Score:1)
I have never watched a single "Netflix Original" show, and have no plans to start.
You're loss. They cover basically the entire spectrum of shows so there's something for everyone. Of course some people are just weird or stubborn or frankly, just trying to feel special. "I don't watch Netflix Orginals" is very rebellious of you. We're all quite impressed.
Re: (Score:2)
He's loss?
But seriously, their spectrum of shows isn't wide enough yet. Too much "real life" stuff, too much "fantasy" stuff, barely any sci-fiction stuff.
They did completely nail the 80's feel and vibe with Stranger Things, though.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm the type of customer they're trying to attract. TV shows are much lower risk, and much broader appeal. It's also the stuff that's getting talked about. House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black are shows that get a lot of media attention.
Re: (Score:2)
I dropped my Netflix sub years ago when their catalog started to drastically shrink; or at the very least when their catalog started to drift towards old B-movies that nobody wanted to watch. Even TV series that I might want to watch were not showing up.
I might come back to watch some Marvel shows, but once those are over I will cancel again.
Re: (Score:3)
There are months, maybe years worth of TV shows and what not on there too that Netflix didn't make but probably don't cost a fortune in license fees. Plus Netflix has more, good, original content than say HBO. It's not doing too bad.
Movies I can get via mail if I want them, but increasingly I don't.
Re: (Score:2)
It protects them from getting pinched by sites that have deals with content producers.
Making deals with content providers is what I expect from a streaming service!
Re: (Score:2)
If that's their plan I hope it's a very long-term plan because although I think some of the original series are great I think some of them aren't and it's going to take a long time for them to build up a large enough catalog to be self-sufficient and by the time they do I'll have seen most of the ones I care to - if I haven't died of old age by then.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
That's great if you like shows based on comics book heroes - while I will watch the occasional Marvel movie, I'm not invested enough to care about ongoing series. House of Cards and Orange is the New Black are not really my style. Narcos is quite good... My personal tastes aside, is what they are offering enough to justify the monthly fee. If you only like two or three of their shows, then it's more worthwhile to sign up for a couple of months and binge watch, then cancel because, as far as I recall, the
Re: (Score:2)
Their plan is become original series only. And then they can entirely drop the catalog of movies and shows.
So then, instead of being my go-to source for a library of content, they become just another AMC or HBO or Showtime or Starz. Just another TV channel, which is the last thing any of us wanted.
Re: (Score:2)
The last thing any of us wanted, but the exact thing AMC, HBO, and Starz want.
Re: (Score:2)
There's HBO Now which is just digitally streamed HBO and you don't need a cable subscription. It's all of HBO's content accessed like Netflix.
http://www.hbonow.com/ [hbonow.com]
Re: (Score:3)
That's the HBO model isn't it ? At least you can subscribe only to Netflix, you can't do that with HBO courtesy of the cable industry fucks.
Actually, you can. That's what their HBO Now service is for. It costs more than Netflix does, but if you like HBO's original programming and don't want to wait for DVD/BluRay, it's definitely worthwhile to look into.
Re: (Score:2)
HBO Now is available in the United States, but god help you if you're not living there. In Canada there's a long-term exclusivity deal between Bell Media and HBO, and if you want to stream HBO you have to have 1. a cable service subscription and 2. a separate HBO subscription. And then you can only use Bell's streaming service, which doesn't always offer up HBO shows as they air.
As someone who won't ever get a cable subscription, I've got the choice to either 1. pirate, 2. wait, or 3. jump through the hoo
Not Netflix's fault (Score:5, Insightful)
People blame Netflix for this like it's something they want, which is untrue.
Fact of the matter is that the studios that own the rights to these films won't sign with Netflix because it competes with the cable companies that own them both for on demand streaming and cable channels, as well as studio owned fronts like Hulu.
This is what happens when content providers consolidate with the content delivery companies. Collusion, false monopolies and fixed markets.
It's time for the government to step in and break up the cable/studio/isp's into their separate pieces again.
Re:Not Netflix's fault (Score:5, Interesting)
In addition to the breakup, I'd like to see movies and television put under a compulsory licensing scheme after, say five years. Set up a similar system to how music royalties get collected and paid out. This way companies like YouTube and Netflix can stop worry about this and follow where the demand takes them. The five year buffer doesn't stop studios from cutting deals to get shows and movies out to platforms of choice earlier and gives them time to sell the physical media.
Re: (Score:2)
So what? How does that benefit the public (which is the only valid purpose of copyright in the first place)?
I see no reason not to do compulsory licensing without some arbitrary and capricious "buffer."
Re: (Score:2)
It may not be popular right now, but compromise is how we get things done. In this case, the studios and big copyright get something in return for giving up their harebrained platform exclusivity. The ability to see how harebrained platform exclusivity is for a certain time before everybody fills their coffers.
True, but you wouldn't get Luke Cage (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not Netflix's fault (Score:5, Insightful)
Those studios are shooting themselves in the foot though. Who wants to have to deal with multiple accounts and hunt down the show they want to watch across Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Go/Now, CBS whatever, Vudu, Crackle, FXnow, and so and so on and so on? For many, Netflix is the first and only stop, and if what they want to watch isn't there, they wont scour the ends of the internet for it. They'll goto the one place they know it will be available: The Pirate Bay.
It's one foot or the other (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll give the studios some credit in this. It would appear they looked at what happened with music and book publishers and decided they didn't want any one company lording over them and being able to cut deals like Amazon and Apple did. For them, it's a choice of either shooting their left foot and let Netflix have what they want at whatever price they can get or shoot their right foot by forcing people to have more than one account.
Only time will show which one they shot.
Re: Not Netflix's fault (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I've seen people hunt around for shows on Amazon and Hulu or whatever rather than trying to torrent. In fact I have a Roku and it has a built in cross-service search. The studios are not dumb. I wish there was compulsory licensing for movies and shows too, but the fact is, they are making bank on the current model.
Re: (Score:1)
And you're a moron, because that's not what they said.
Re:Not Netflix's fault (Score:4, Insightful)
Government isn't the answer to nearly 99% of the questions it tries to answer..
True. That's why we badly need someone who could make America great again.
Re: (Score:2)
Who's gonna make America great again? (A serious answer, not the Trumpster)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Lest you forget, I didn't use an absolute 100%... There ARE things for which the government is the answer... The national defense and roads are among the correct answers..
Re: (Score:2)
Rhetorically, any time someone objects that maybe the government isn't the best idea for something, these types always trot out roads, or police, or some other very basic thing that is 180 degrees and 4000 miles away from the subject under discussion.
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously, take it for what it obviously is. A mind set that says, "Government is the answer of last resort" and "Government should be as small as possible, and we should be striving to make it smaller."
There are way to many folks who think that any problem is a chance for a bigger government and that's simply wrong headed. We where founded with the principle of LIMITED government, with LIMITED powers that left us free in as many ways as possible. Now days, folks demand MORE government, more laws, more
Re:Not Netflix's fault (Score:4, Insightful)
The problem that small limited government people like you seem to never understand though is that we need the government to balance out the already overpowered corporate system. As it is corporations still have too much power but remove government as a counter and we'd be nothing more than barcoded slaves living a dystopia.
We where founded with the principle of LIMITED government, with LIMITED powers that left us free in as many ways as possible.
Also stop living in the past. The US was also founded on the principle's that only land owners got to vote and slaves counted as 3/5ths of a person. Things change.
Re: (Score:3)
corporations still have too much power but remove government as a counter and we'd be nothing more than barcoded slaves living a dystopia.
That argument made more sense before the corporations got control of the government.
Re: (Score:2)
Also stop living in the past. The US was also founded on the principle's that only land owners got to vote and slaves counted as 3/5ths of a person. Things change.
Yet we are quite past all that now. Not to mention that NONE of these imply the government needs to be bigger to deal with the issue. In fact, all that was required was to change the law and practice of voting to what we have now.
Yes, things change, but just because some idea seems new to you, doesn't make it new nor does new mean better. I quite like the principles upon which this country was founded and I think folks like you are all too quick to abandon even the pretense of giving lip service to our fo
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously AC....
How's "Nearly 99%" and what you suggest all that different? Consider it a mind set, a principle, a world view and move on.
Whant to guess why I canceled? (Score:3, Interesting)
I came to realize I was paying to watch one original series for a week a year, five seasons of Top Gear and Futurama. I could get everything else that I might watch elsewhere and more. It stopped being worth subscribing.
dvd.netflix.com (Score:5, Insightful)
I still have not subscribed to the streaming part of netflix.
I still get the dvds.
Re: (Score:3)
The nice thing about the Bluray/DVD service is you can just rip the disk to your file server and send it back. Well, I mean, if you wanted to... Not that I would ever amass dozens of terabytes of ripped Blurays or anything... Never.
Re: (Score:2)
It's my understanding that copyright infringement/bootlegging is most frequently prosecuted on the distribution angle. If you are torrenting something, you are actually involved in distribution. If you are making bootleg copies and selling them on the street, that's also distribution. Ripping rentals is a time honored tradition that stems back to the days of VCRs (You only have one VCR? You're doing it wrong...). If one were to have a large collection of ripped rental Blurays, I have no doubt that some
Re: (Score:2)
I get both, though the DVD catalog is wearing out over time and the stuff I'm interested in is niche enough to not get replaced promptly (or at all...) so at some point I will probably drop that side.
I don't use Netflix for movies much anymore (Score:5, Interesting)
I'd much rather Netflix spends their money on TV shows (especially originals) than chasing expensive, popular movies. If I feel I need to watch The Dark Knight again (and I don't expect to) I'll find a way. No - I stay subscribed to them for TV: Stranger Things and House of Cards and Better Call Saul.
Well, that and my kids have been into Digimon lately.
What's IMDB? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
but i like it for the bad movies (Score:2)
If a movie comes along that's so great it's going down as one of the best movies ever, I'll gladly buy a ticket for it. Then i've seen
DVDs instead of streaming (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
This is why I get their DVDs instead of streaming. I haven't made a count but they have a far higher percentage than that on DVD. I've gotten the impression they have 8 or 10 times as many movies on DVD as on streaming.
Netflix has almost EVERYTHING on DVD/BR.
Over time... (Score:2)
I think what would matter is over say a 5 year period how many of them they have...
That they have to balance old content vs. new content.... it is a real hard cost to license everything, always, forever.
But knowing in any given 5 or 10 year period that most of the good stuff is rotating through.. would be enough for me.
another approach is what percent of their customers want old content vs. newer, I like older but I watch about 95% new / 5% old...
DVD's (Score:1)
Shrinkage? (Score:2)
Correction to article & summary (Score:4, Informative)
Well, it's a pretty common fact at this point that Netflix's *streaming* library is shrinking.
Stranger Things - Nuff Said (Score:2)
Season two is in production.
And their kids offerings are great (I watch Phineas and Ferb with and without the kids, it's very well written).
Anyway, we binge watched the first season of Stranger Things and it was awesome (Goonies melded with ET melded with The Bodyguard melded with the Force from Star Wars - freaking incredible). And there's another dimension.
ThePirateBay has all of them (Score:4, Informative)
Re:ThePirateBay has all of them (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, it's not only that Piratebay and friends obviously offer the bigger catalogue of content. It's also that you get a DRM-free version you can play anywhere, anytime without being online.
Do sites like Netflix really expect to be paid for worse service? I'd still be willing to pay for a service (monthly, or per-content) if it allowed the ease of use and freedom of pirating sites. Not that I really use those, I essentially stopped watching TV shows and movies, except for one or two shows hosted via Amazon Prime, Netflix wasn't at all worth it because I only was interested in one or two shows, but since I don't binge-watch, finishing one might take months, which makes this service much more expensive than a box set of Blurays.
But sadly Blurays are shit and insulting. I have to sit through minutes of shitty menus and anti-piracy shit, even though I paid €15 for a movie. I cannot play Bluray on my PC without buying some software for playback, like the now-defunct AnyDVD, or MakeMKV. I certainly won't buy a shitty special player software, which locks me in even further.
Streaming sites are shit. Ever changing catalogues, small amount of content and the fact that sometimes they only offer half the seasons of a TV show (Amazon, I'm looking at you). Add to that that I am forced to be online. So it is unusable on business trips on the plane or in hotels with bad WiFi, a situation where I'm more likely to just watch a movie or show than at home. On top we have DRM playback software, which forces me to use Chrome.
Offer me a way to get the content onto my PC DRM-free, without jumping through hoops, and we might have a deal.
Always a fundamental weakness of their model (Score:2)
When someone else controls the content, you end up as a "dumb pipe". The carriers don't like that (fuck them -- they should just become a public utilitty like the water) and Netflix had the same problem at layer 7. So instead they are burning capital making their own content. Good luck to them.
I assume they made payoffs to the publishers to avoid this problem with DVDs. Redbox would't and famously had troubles.
They're responding to demand (Score:2)
Statistics (Score:2)
Why 250? Why not top 50? Or top 10? Or top 500? Is 250 significant?
Re: (Score:2)
Good question. Based on a logarithmic fit curve of the IMDb Top 250 movies (with an R^2 of 0.97), it would appear that larger lists would still contain movies with relatively high ratings. Currently the lowest rating on the Top 250 list is 8.0. Extrapolating from the fit curve, here are some other possibilities:
- a Top 500 list would have movies with a rating of >= ~7.8
- a Top 1000 list would have movies with a rating of >= ~7.6
- a Top 2000 list would have movies with a rating of >= ~7.5
- a Top 100
No longer subscribed (Score:2)
Tried to go "legit" (Score:2)
So, now I've canceled my account and will continue to torrent for the foreseeable future. It doesn't ever break, and it has e
Distribution sucks (Score:2)
Movies should be licensed websites the same as music is licensed to radio. Anyone can play anything in the library, but you have to pay the royalty. That way Netflix, Hulu, Amazon would compete only on delivery and price, and they'd have an order of magnitude more content each. And we'd have a bunch of new competitors.
Higher prices for less choices? (Score:2)
How can Netflix defend higher prices with less quality choices?
Re: (Score:3)
Enjoy:
http://instantwatcher.com/sear... [instantwatcher.com]
Re: (Score:2)
A late reply to an AC, so I doubt this will be seen, but Google Play often has lower prices for movies than Amazon. I paid £12.59 for the Force Awakens (albeit including a 10% discount for being a Play Music subscriber).