2011-10-22

Thank you, NBC

Thank you NBC for streaming USC v. Notre Dame today.

We will watch just about any grade video and even the same crummy ad that airs one hundred eighty-five times per game (can't NBC sell ad time to more than one company?) in order to see this game. That NBC streams High-Definition video is just flat excellent.

What's interesting: the costly $60 month television package from U-verse. AT&T is trying to be a cable television company, selling bundles of channels, at a flat rate. It's just like the record companies selling entire albums for $16-$20 when the customer really wanted one or two songs, then wondering why file sharing destroyed their market.

We don't really want a business relationship with a cable TV provider, or, for that matter, a TV channel. We want to watch The Game, see The Movie or The Show, or hear The Music. U-verse is a means to an end. The fewer companies between the consumer and the consumed, the better.

NBC gets it. At least for now.

2011-10-10

Netflix Nixes Qwikster

What's going on, Netflix?  Three weeks almost to the day later, and perhaps after Reed Hastings smoked a different bowl, Netflix nixes Qwikster:


Weirdly, Netflix didn't begin its backtrack with "I messed up," the preferred language for an apologia at the company (a, b, c). And no long-winded, rambling explanation, either. The message is signed "The Netflix Team", although the official blog post is singly signed "Reed".

This move comes after a weekend of intermittent downtime:


The we-are-betting-the-company-on-it streaming service becomes unavailable at 9pm Saturday night?

At this point, investors should be wondering who on the Netflix board "messed up" by keeping these guys around.

What's going on, Netflix?



Update: a detail article from The Wall Street Journal at 1:40 EDT / 10:40 PDT.