Verizon to take on Netflix

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The Gauntlet has been thrown: Verizon is building a Netflix competitor.

OK I'm skeptical – at this rate the competition is ramping up – but it sounds like they've got a focused plan (movies and kids' shows) and remember they've also got a presence on the new XBox.  So it's not unreasonable – and like Game Stores, it seems we're oddly at a place where people would rather launch a redundant service than miss out.

Takeaways:

  • Netflix is vulnerable, and I think their response will actually be internationalization.
  • OnLive is somewhere in all of this mess, with giant streaming system NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT.
  • Verizon has a big "captive audience" they can leverage (and more with XBox).
  • Verizon is going to have to hire/employ people to do this – which may mean jobs.  If others jump in on this, more jobs.
  • People are still talking big, not small content.  I'm concerned smaller producers may get squeezed out.

(Oh and side note to Netflix CEO Hastings – do not compare yourself to Bank of America.  Man, I'm starting to feel my faith in Netflix is misplaced – but not enough to suggest you look elsewhere for work.)

– Steven Savage

Steve’s Kill Your Cable Adventure #2: In Depth Psychology And Stuff

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So let's get an update on my Kill Your Cable attempts.

TECHNOLOGY:
I'm finding it was good I got that Logitech revue cheap – as several places (Hulu, Comedy Central) don't support it.  Still not a bad device, but this is proof that territoriality is going to affect Kill Your Cable, and that some people are jerks.

I'm starting to revise my opinion that a Killbox is going to arise in the next year or two because A) I can't see anyone agreeing on anything, and B) As computers get so much cheaper and ubiquitous it may not be needed.

Really, I don't know – though it looks like Microsoft is going to try to make Xbox the Killbox.

My roommate, who just moved for another job, noted something interesting -if you just got a cheap computer for your Killbox, then you always have a backup computer just in case.  That's a pretty good point (Especially with cheap and small desktops).

For that matter maybe someone will get smart and pitch a cheap computer AS a Killbox.

CULTURE:
I wanted to do Kill Your Cable because I got tired of the bills, lack of options, I didn't use it that much, and some cable companies have been really annoying.  It seemed like win-win.

Well I think it is and will be, but it really made me ask – what do I watch TV for anyway.  The answers surprised me.

News: Well, I used to watch a lot of news, until Cable news went into an ethical and content tailspin and crashed into the ground of irrelevance before bursting into the fireball of shallowness.  I get everything online (or through my cell phone), so I don't need cable for news at all.

Entertainment: Considering how much stuff on television is garbage anyway, and how much is available via DVDs, Netflix, online, etc. I don't really need cable for entertainment.  However, I did realize there was one factor more prominent than I thought . . .

Timeliness: Here's an oft-unspoken element of cable and any form of media – people want stuff in a timely manner.  They want it as soon as possible, and cable delivers that.  This is a difficult factor to deal with if you feel you need the immediacy – online may be your only option.  Fortunately there's little to nothing that I feel I have to keep up with, but Timeliness can be a factor for many people, including . . .

Socialization: When one of my roommates moved out for a job elsewhere, I realized how much of my media consumption is social.  In the case of "the latest thing," the social factor is huge, and perhaps unappreciated.  If you want to socialize/discuss "the latest thing," cable may be the only way to get it legally.  This is a powerful advantage cable has, one I am glad is slipping away, and a factor that I really hadn't appreciated.  I think about half my viewing of anything television-related is social.

So I'm realizing that my major reason for having cable is getting programs I watch/discuss with other people in a timely manner.  There's not a big list of these anyway, so I can pretty much do with out it.

For other households?  It might be a bit tough without focused effort.

THOUGHTS:
Kill your cable actually makes you think – and that may actually be one of the biggest side effects of conscious and unconscious moves to a cableless future.  This has forced me to ask some serious questions, all from an innocent effort to save money and avoid annoyance.

I can see Kill Your Cable going "movement", building momentum, until it becomes it's own "thing."  At that point it gets FAR more interesting as it's about conscious media consumption . . .

NEXT STEPS:
Well my remaining roommate and I need to see if we can agree on our viewing habits via Netflix, Hulu, and the internet.  Let's see what happens!

– Steven Savage

The Munsters: Taking Team Edward Too Far

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Well the news is in on the possible 'Munsters' Remake.

It's TrueTwiBloodsters.

Basically it's a younger-Twilight where Eddie copes with werewolfism, mom is some kind of flesh-eater, and I'm pretty sure gramps won't be rocking out in his Dragula.  It's the Munsters with most everything changed to protect the innocent.

Beyond my weird reaction of amusement and disgust, I wonder if we've got a trend here.  We saw Teen Wolf go Twiangsty (which seems thematically inappropriate, but at least Michael J. Fox was a heartthrob in his younger days).  So now Munsters gets Twilight and True Blood infusions – so is the next big thing repurposing older properties to take advantage of the whole Vampire/Werewolf/Romance/YA trend?

Ridiculous?  Maybe, but consider that there's assorted properties to repurpose, the whole vampire market apparently has more lives than its inspirations, and remakes have an air of safety (even when it's slapping a name on something else).  Plus you probably have much clearer property negotiations than with the latest hot YA/Vampire/Whatever series.

It makes sense.  In it's own way.

Not that I'm happy with this – but it's a trend we progeeks may want to look for, if only to be ready for it's impact.

– Steven Savage