#netflix price increase

[toastby-4s]

thinking about Netflix's recent decision, and I genuinely reckon that if Stranger Things were to be released now, it would be canned after one season too. It's hard to generate a large follower base when a show doesn't even have its production company's support, but Netflix has proven that there is a market for YA, sci-fi, and fantasy. Shows like that just need the promotion and dedication they used to receive. By abandoning so many projects early on, they're just shooting themselves in the foot...

[medicinemane]

It's amazing how quickly you can make someone turn on your company by making a stupid and insulting move

Force me to go through the front door and scan my card when I have backdoor business that never needed a card before (what? ...I was going to somehow... sneak in and... purchase things with a borrowed card? ...which I totally can't do from the front door after scanning it?)

Or like... twitterify your layout right after your users give you a bunch of money just cause they like you, and then refuse to walk it back

...or all the other things companies do that just kinda piss people off and then they refuse to acknowledge maybe it sucks and is stupid cause "hey, the customers didn't leave"... yeah... yet

[katvazamo]

cant believe i almost pay a hundo bucks every month purely on entertainment 😅

[inkoutsidethelines]

Got an email that netflix was going to raise prices in December, which was the final push I needed to cancel my membership

[essercipertuttienonperse]

crazy idea but I think if people just stopped paying for shit that isn't right maybe things would change

[leaving-fragments]

upon opening the app today netflix showed me a message that they were raising their subscription price and it was like 👉👈 do you accept 🥺 our price update? 😔 so i was like... no?!? and then they were like, well we're cancelling your subscription in june then... unless you want to reconsider? 😇 and honestly i'd rather they just give me the terms straight rather than playing at giving me a choice

[gldnlvrs]

raw on netflix is beyond insane

[thymewayster]

Really good Twitter thread originally about Elon Musk and Twitter, but also applies to Netflix and a lot of other corporations.

Full thread. Text transcription under cut.

John Bull @garius

One of the things I occasionally get paid to do by companies/execs is to tell them why everything seemed to SUDDENLY go wrong, and subs/readers dropped like a stone. So, with everything going on at Twitter rn, time for a thread about the Trust Thermocline /1

So: what's a thermocline?

Well large bodies of water are made of layers of differing temperatures. Like a layer cake. The top bit is where all the the waves happen and has a gradually decreasing temperature. Then SUDDENLY there's a point where it gets super-cold.

That suddenly is important. There's reasons for it (Science!) but it's just a good metaphor. Indeed you may also be interested in the "Thermocline of Truth" which a project management term for how things on a RAG board all suddenly go from amber to red.

But I digress. The Trust Thermocline is something that, over (many) years of digital, I have seen both digital and regular content publishers hit time and time again. Despite warnings (at least when I've worked there). And it has a similar effect. You have lots of users then suddenly... nope. And this does effect print publications as much as trendy digital media companies. They'll be flying along making loads of money, with lots of users/readers, rolling out new products that get bought. Or events. Or Sub-brands.

And then SUDDENLY those people just abandon them. Often it's not even to "new" competitor products, but stuff they thought were already not a threat. Nor is there lots of obvious dissatisfaction reported from sales and marketing (other than general grumbling). Nor is it a general drift away, it's just a sudden big slide. So why does this happen? As I explain to these people and places, it's because they breached the Trust Thermocline.

I ask them if they'd been increasing prices. Changed service offerings. Modified the product.

The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid" Then I ask if they did that the year before. Did they increase prices last year? Change the offering? Modify the product?

Again: "yes, but not much."

The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid." "And the year before?"

"Yes but not much. And everyone still paid."

Well, you get the idea. And here is where the Trust Thermocline kicks in. Because too many people see service use as always following an arc. They think that as long as usage is ticking up, they can do what they like to cost and product.

And (critically) that they can just react when the curve flattens But with a lot of CONTENT products (inc social media) that's not actually how it works. Because it doesn't account for sunk-cost lock-in.

Users and readers will stick to what they know, and use, well beyond the point where they START to lose trust in it. And you won't see that. But they'll only MOVE when they hit the Trust Thermocline. The point where their lack of trust in the product to meet their needs, and the emotional investment they'd made in it, have finally been outweighed by the physical and emotional effort required to abandon it. At this point, I normally get asked something like:

"So if we undo the last few changes and drop the price, we get them back?"

And then I have to break the news that nope: that's not how it works.

Because you're past the Thermocline now. You can't make them trust you again.

[edwinspaynes]

It's really not surprising that @netflix is losing a LOT of money this week. Within the span of just a couple of weeks, they:

Ended one of their most beloved shows (TUA) in what was literally one of the worst conclusions ever written

Announced a homophobic version of Dorian Gray where Basil and Dorian were brothers

Canceled a critically acclaimed new show (DBDA) after one season despite its large, dedicated fanbase after failing to market that show

Implemented ads on Netflix plans that did not previously have them, essentially serving as a price increase for a lot of people

This is a genuinely insane metric to see, especially for a company as large as @netflix. Honestly, it's super embarrassing, but a natural product of their recent behaviour.

[godsfiercest]

Oh they are VERY unserious right now

[reintrothrurep]

Netflix really went we can't go up $10 without subscribers cancelling so well do the clown creep incremental encroachment of striving for $30/month. I'm getting tired of streaming and subscriptions.

[swaggadigitalmagazine]

This is why streaming Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max keeps getting more expensive

This is why streaming Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max keeps getting more expensive

It’s a lose-lose situation. While some streamers are losing money by paying to get content on their platforms, others are losing money by distributing it on their own platforms. The result? Price hikes. Streaming services just keep creeping up in price. Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Apple TV Plus all announced price hikes this year, which means we’re forced to have to pay more money…

[proshippers-against-censorship]

In recent times, we've seen the rise of conspiracy claims related to the QAnon movement, with claims that secret rings of pedophiles infiltrate our government and entertainment industry.

Pizzagate was, to a degree, where these claims began, with wild and frightening claims of sex-trafficked children in a D.C. pizza restaurant allegedly associated with Democratic politicians.

Then Jeffrey Epstein was charged and died after he predated on young, vulnerable teens.

Finally Netflix released the film “Cuties”, it was promoted with clips that objectified young girls and showed them mimicking adult, sexualized dance in hip hop videos.

Suddenly, it seemed like we were at war with people who want to "normalize" sex with children, and social media is filled with cries for murder of anyone associated. 

Children deserve to be protected, but to truly protect young people, we must deal with reality, and not fantastical conspiracies. Here are some vital facts:

Most children who experience sexual abuse are abused by people they know. Over 90% of sexual assaults against children, are committed by relatives, siblings, parents, teachers, pastors, ministers, or neighbors. 

Less than half (around 40%) of sexual assaults against children are committed by pedophiles. The majority of sexual crimes against children are perpetrated by people who do not have a history of disordered sexual arousal to children. Instead, issues of drugs, alcohol, anger, isolation, and control motivate these tragic events. 

Pedophilia is a sexual disorder that involves repeated sexual arousal, fantasy, or behavior toward children, but is not, in and of itself alone, a highly significant risk factor for sexual abuse of children. I know this seems hard to believe, but research demonstrates that it is antisocial personality traits, low empathy for the victim, disinhibiting drugs and alcohol, and isolation which lead to sexual abuse of children. People with pedophilic arousal and attraction are at greater risk compared to the general public to engage in child sex abuse, but these other risk factors may carry more weight.

Many people with pedophilic disorder never sexually abuse children. We don't know very much about this population, or how many never abuse children, because most keep their fantasies and thoughts a secret for shame and fear of punishment or exposure.

Pedophiles appear to be born, not made, and have distinct neurological differences which correlate with these disturbed sexual desires. But when pedophiles have empathy, have an awareness of the need to follow social rules, and are sober, these people appear to have no clear risk for sexually abusive behavior. 

Treatment of sexual offenders against children used to be highly punitive, coercive, and filled with shame. But today, these treatments have been shown to potentially increase the risk of recidivism, and to put more children at risk. Punishment and revenge against sex offenders may make us feel vindication, but it comes at the price of future victims. Treatment models such as “The Good Lives” program have strong evidence for reducing future risk, and rely on building up former offenders, developing skills, resources, motovation, and social connections, not on breaking down these people. 

Anger, rage, and fear over the sexual abuse of children not only hurts our chances of preventing future abuse, but it harms the children themselves. It is exactly the rage and shame over sexual abuse, and sexuality in general, which leads many victims to keep their abuse secret. They fear that they are now tainted, that it was somehow their fault, and that people’s rage will leak onto them. 

People need to have better, louder, and more conversations about the way our society and media sexualizes children, for example in beauty pageants, television shows, and daily life. But these conversations need to be based on facts, not myths. People need to recognize that these tragedies are due to social policies that perpetuate neglect, poverty, and dehumanization, not the actions of secret, powerful pedophiles.

I see only facts here.

[perseidlion]

Dead Boy Detectives friends, I totally respect and support those of you who feel like you want to fight. You want to make noise. You want to sign petitions and organize campaigns. I get that you don't want to give up on this wonderful show.

Normally I'd support campaigns, but in this case I think there are some very big things working against us:

The Neil Gaiman factor. I hate to say it, but the accusations against him were probably part of the reason for cancellation and why getting picked up elsewhere is a non-starter. The explicit ties to the Netflix Sandman with Death and Despair SHOULD have helped the show get renewed. But with the accusations against NG, that definitely hurt it. That's so deeply unfair because those of us who are fans of the show know that DBD is not a Gaiman show, and his contribution to the story is minimal. But Sandman is Gaiman's, and they made the connection to Sandman and thus Gaiman, explicit. When the news about NG came down, Sandman was already well into production and contracts were signed. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if S2 was Sandman's last season.

The collapse of streaming. Gone are the days when networks pick up each others' shows to try and court subscribers and steal an audience share. That barely happens anymore, and when it does it's under very unusual circumstances. Every network is cancelling well-reviewed shows with a following. Every network is cancelling queer shows more than others. Every network is greedy and looking for mega-hits only. There are no good guys in the streaming landscape.

The economy and the strikes. Don't get me wrong, the gains made by SAG-AFTRA, and the Writers and Directors' guilds were absolutely necessary and required for fairness. But it did increase production costs. Instead of adjusting their profit expectations, the streamers are trying desperately to keep the same profits from the pre-strike days. Which is why we have this mega-hit or bust model. Add to that the economic downturn and the price of everything going up, and the bar for "success" from a corporate standpoint is set impossibly high.

Streaming's metric for success is new subscribers, not how much existing subscribers enjoy the content. This is a big one. It used to be if an audience loved it and that audience was appealing to an advertiser, a show could keep going. Advertisers wanted the affinity for the show to spill over onto their product for supporting it. But with streaming, the streamers don't care how much you love something. They just care that you watch it, you stay subscribed, and that content gets new subscribers. A passionate watch is worth the same $$ wise to them as a hate watch or a half-interested watch. In that way, the loss of commercials is the reason for so many of the more niche shows getting cancelled.

The big reason I think we're sunk for either getting Netflix to reverse the decision or for it to get picked up elsewhere is honestly, because Yockey posted a pretty big S2 spoiler. The showrunner wouldn't do that if he thought there was any hope. My guess is the show is tied to Netflix because of the Sandman connection, and because they commissioned scripts for S2 that they own. There's probably some contractual reasons that make network hopping impossible.

I don't want to be a downer, and like I said if you want to campaign to let your heart heal or just to not let this happen quietly, I fully support that.

But in my heart, I think we have to lay our beloved Dead Boy Detectives to rest - at least as a show. They'll live on in our hearts and our fanworks.

[transhawks]

Nagant took one look at inflation + higher rent prices + overall increases on COL + the rising rate of netflix subscriptions and decide she's good y'all.