Netflix doubles-down on the derp

Also, for people who don't get what Quikster was about. They want out of the DVD mailing business.

Apple is starting to push it's iCloud, so it's only a matter of time before they start to put huge libraries into the iCloud (first of music, and then video) and simply charge a flat fee for full access to those libraries.

All the promise of the service starts to break down when you look into how it actually works. If you go out to purchase either Horrible Bosses or Green Lantern on DVD or Blu-ray this week, you'll find a 12-digit redemption code for a digital copy of the movie. After you have created an UltraViolet account, as well as a Flixster account -- Warner Bros.' social movie portal -- and entered the 12-digit code, you can stream your movie through Flixster's website and App. At the moment, UltraViolet has no set-top-box support, but the service should eventually be available on the Xbox 360 and connected TV's.

The idea is you buy a movie once and watch it anywhere. In general, I like this, but UltraViolet missed when it made the first purchase a physical copy. It marks the service as an attempt by movie studios to reinvigorate DVD and Blu-ray sales.

Frankly, fighting to preserve physical media is a waste of time. Services such as Apple's iTunes and Microsoft's Zune Marketplace allow users to buy or rent HD movies from the comfort of their couches. Meanwhile, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX ) streaming, Hulu, and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN ) have introduced consumers to the concept of paying for access to a buffet of movies and shows rather than owning them outright. With so many better options, DVD and Blu-ray will most likely go the way of VHS and compact discs

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Apple is starting to push it's iCloud, so it's only a matter of time before they start to put huge libraries into the iCloud (first of music, and then video) and simply charge a flat fee for full access to those libraries.

There's a glitch in your thinking here though. APPLE is a stickler for copyright documentation. They will not allow undocumented MP3 files and video files on their iCloud. Apple will try and try to push users to only upload AA (iTunes files) and iTunes related videos.

There's a glitch in your thinking here though. APPLE is a stickler for copyright documentation. They will not allow undocumented MP3 files and video files on their iCloud. Apple will try and try to push users to only upload AA (iTunes files) and iTunes related videos.

But since Apple has not sense for getting DRM free files or knows how to bargain with the music studio and movie studio system, they will never be a cheap alternative for streaming movies.

Even their iCloud pricing scheme (can't remember where I saw the initial plan pricing) will not be appealing to consumers of bargain or moderately priced cloud storage.

They are currently (reported in the last 48 hours) in negotiations to stream TV and Movies but it is sounding like what they are asking for is permission to stream your purchased media (not an all-you-can stream solution).

Too bad, I'd love to see them tackle the Netflix model.

How many gigs per year does this $25 get you? 20 gigabytes?

That's $5 more then Amazon as their going for a buck a gigabyte. Plus they have an unlimited space for music files if you have the storage plan of at least 20 gigabytes for $20.

We recently noted that the attempt by Hulu's owners to sell Hulu wasn't going well, mainly because those same owners had made it clear that they hoped to kill Hulu, by limiting how much it could compete with their lucrative legacy business of cable TV. No one was willing to offer more than $2 billion -- significantly less than what Hulu's owners wanted -- other than Google. But Google would only do it if the TV companies agreed to certain conditions (i.e., not killing off Hulu by limiting content, requiring a paywall, etc.)

So it comes as little surprise that Hulu has now announced that its owners are no longer trying to sell the company off. Instead, they'll focus on suffocating it from within. Well, that part wasn't mentioned, but watch what happens to Hulu execs over the next few months. I think it's likely that we're going to start seeing some departures of key people. Hulu was an amazingly well executed offering with a really capable team... but as we predicted, the fact that the only way it could really succeed was to cannibalize the business of its owners, almost certainly meant that Hulu would never be allowed to execute on the strategy it needed to become a massive player.

Of course, what the big TV companies still fail to recognize is that killing off Hulu doesn't stop the move to an a la cart, online driven world. It just means that when it comes, they will be even less relevant, and less able to capitalize on it.

After DVDs
The meaning of Netflix’s stumbling summer.

The company has already sent out e-mail mea culpas for its Summer of Flub, but it still has 24 million subscribers who need coddling. To mend fences, Netflix might start by asking its customers what they want. Because in this case, that’s probably a better plan than telling them.

though the industry may have decided that DVDs are the past and streaming is the future, for all but the most tech-forward consumers, it’s wrong. DVDs are the present, and streaming is the future. You may think they’re ready for history’s dustbin, but your mom doesn’t. Turns out she’s a Netflix customer too.

I liked this bit:

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though the industry may have decided that DVDs are the past and streaming is the future, for all but the most tech-forward consumers, it’s wrong. DVDs are the present, and streaming is the future. You may think they’re ready for history’s dustbin, but your mom doesn’t. Turns out she’s a Netflix customer too.

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc warned of continued steep declines in DVD subscribers this quarter and said a costly expansion into Britain and Ireland would push it into the red in the first quarter, walloping its shares.

The top video rental company reported a better-than-expected 49 percent surge in third-quarter revenue to $822 million, surpassing Wall Street's target of about $812 million.

But investors -- mindful of how the company led by CEO Reed Hastings had driven away customers in recent months and damaged its credibility with an unpopular price hike and other high-profile stumbles -- focused on the fourth-quarter warning.

Netflix shares plummeted almost 20 percent to $95.50 in after-hours trading.

"We expect the costs of our entry into the UK and Ireland will push us to be unprofitable on a global basis; that is, domestic profits will not be large enough to both cover international investments and pay for global G&A and technology and development," Hastings said in a letter to shareholders accompanying its quarterly report.

Hastings added that subscriber defections because of the price-hike should slow in coming quarters "as the price effect washes through".

The company reported earnings per share of $1.16 on net income of $62 million. Analysts had expected earnings per share of 94 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. But it was not immediately clear if those earnings numbers were comparable