Is Quickflix doomed?

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1828 posts

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#990498 19-Feb-2014 14:34

Jas777: GeekieGeek,

Say you can get HBO on Netflix/Hulu or on a Quickflix but you want to see GoT the minute it is released, is it still ok to torrent it considering a lot of other content on Netflix/Hulu etc has some sort of delay as well?

Is it ok to torrent anything that appears on Netflix/Hulu at a later date even though there is a legitimate way of viewing it straight away?

Or is it just price that determines you view?

the answer to torrenting any programs available on Netflix/Hulu is NO it's not alright to do so as you do not own the rights but on saying that if it is not available on either then my advice is do what you think you need to do but if you get caught it's your problem

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#990524 19-Feb-2014 15:03

Jas777: Mattwnz,

Problem with a 'all you can eat' price is that the really expensive items are normally not available as the cost to purchase to supply to the price to sell gives you no margin. You don't see many 'all you can eat places' serving the best quality steak or crayfish.

How do you propose unbundling? Considering that 95% of the content is sourced form overseas how can unbundling be applied to here?

Possibily something like a central buyer (something like pharmac ) who buys content and is government regulated, and pay and FTA tv companies can then buy the content from them.

vexxxboy

4244 posts

Uber Geek

#990536 19-Feb-2014 15:11

Athlonite:
Jas777: GeekieGeek,

Say you can get HBO on Netflix/Hulu or on a Quickflix but you want to see GoT the minute it is released, is it still ok to torrent it considering a lot of other content on Netflix/Hulu etc has some sort of delay as well?

Is it ok to torrent anything that appears on Netflix/Hulu at a later date even though there is a legitimate way of viewing it straight away?

Or is it just price that determines you view?

the answer to torrenting any programs available on Netflix/Hulu is NO it's not alright to do so as you do not own the rights but on saying that if it is not available on either then my advice is do what you think you need to do but if you get caught it's your problem

thats my point i made earlier, you dont have to download any content and worry about getting caught. You can now stream the latest movies , tv shows in any format and watch it immediately . if i wanted to i could watch 12 years a slave in full 1080 5.1 sound in 30 seconds from typing this and not pay a dime , This is what Quickflix is up against and they are going to struggle.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Jas777

838 posts

Ultimate Geek

#990550 19-Feb-2014 15:29

vexxxboy

Not much different to buying a stolen TV at the pub then? You know you are obtaining it by an illegal means but you don't care.

Jas777

838 posts

Ultimate Geek

#990553 19-Feb-2014 15:35

Mattwnz,

What if supplier x will only let you buy progamme a if you buy b,c,d,e,f,g,h also but the paytv and FTA companies only want programmes a and b?

What if PAYTV company and FTA company says they are only willing to pay x for the rights as the other can show it too but the central buyer need more than both willing to pay?

geekiegeek

2513 posts

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Inactive user

#990591 19-Feb-2014 16:29

Jas777: GeekieGeek,

Say you can get HBO on Netflix/Hulu or on a Quickflix but you want to see GoT the minute it is released, is it still ok to torrent it considering a lot of other content on Netflix/Hulu etc has some sort of delay as well?

Is it ok to torrent anything that appears on Netflix/Hulu at a later date even though there is a legitimate way of viewing it straight away?

Or is it just price that determines you view?

The delay on Hulu is pretty minimal and I'm not the sort that has too watch something straight away as soon as its released so if it was there I wouldn't need top torrent. I don't even mind the ads on Hulu that much.

sen8or

1789 posts

Uber Geek

#990606 19-Feb-2014 16:40

Of course it's doomed, just look at its parent, quickflix Australia.

In the 9 years it has been operating, quickflix has yet to post a profit, it's losses range from "only" a few million up to nearly 14mio Aussie. Each year it continues to be bailed out by its shareholders through share floats, loans etc, but a business which can't sustain itself simply will not last.

Also what has to be worrying for them is that average monthly "churn" of paying customers has increased, total paying customers has decreased. If their growth has peaked and they still aren't financially viable, it's not a matter of if they will fold, but when.

I've said before, I own a DVD rental store in nz, but these are facts taken from their own published financial reports, freely available as they are a publicly listed company.

The real question is will DVD rental stores go before quickflix. Sadly, many already have, but the good ones are still around and where there has been consolidation in the local market, these stores are doing better than in years.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

steve98

1395 posts

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Trusted

#990607 19-Feb-2014 16:41

I'm not so sure Quickflix's success is all that paramount.

We all know what has been stopping Quickflix from obtaining content rights. If and when that barrier is removed, the big boys like Netflix will come here and will be successful regardless of whether Quickflix found success or not.

benokobi

927 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#990617 19-Feb-2014 16:57

freitasm: We pay US$7/month for Netflix and another US$7/month for Hulu (different programs). Just the fact David Attenborough series are available for kids to watch without having to pay DVD rentals and having to drive to the other side of Wellington to find a DVD rental store justifies the price.

Quickflix model is similar and they are constantly adding more content (see thread I posted yesterday about new rights signed up).

I can watch more than a few series of tv shows in a month that would cost me more than the cost of a vpn or dns and both hulu and netflix. The fact that you have to pay extra for the "better tv shows" and the newish movies on top of the $15 makes me realise how good netflix and hulu are.

benokobi

927 posts

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#990620 19-Feb-2014 17:00

geekiegeek:
Jas777: GeekieGeek,

Say you can get HBO on Netflix/Hulu or on a Quickflix but you want to see GoT the minute it is released, is it still ok to torrent it considering a lot of other content on Netflix/Hulu etc has some sort of delay as well?

Is it ok to torrent anything that appears on Netflix/Hulu at a later date even though there is a legitimate way of viewing it straight away?

Or is it just price that determines you view?

The delay on Hulu is pretty minimal and I'm not the sort that has too watch something straight away as soon as its released so if it was there I wouldn't need top torrent. I don't even mind the ads on Hulu that much.

I like the ads for some reason (lol). I also wonder if the ads help with the buffering of the actual content as the ads are often lower quality.

vexxxboy

4244 posts

Uber Geek

#990624 19-Feb-2014 17:07

Jas777: vexxxboy

Not much different to buying a stolen TV at the pub then? You know you are obtaining it by an illegal means but you don't care.

im not saying anything , im just saying that you dont have to download anything anymore , you can stream the torrents now in real time no waiting so how is Quixflix meant to compete against a free service, illegal or not. and there is a reason why people sell stolen products , theres a big market for them.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

rugrat

3107 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#990652 19-Feb-2014 17:47

I was considering Signing up to quickfix with the new content, then saw that it was pay per episode.

Just doesn't seem value for money, where overseas they can do it cheaper, and through legal means.

Contents rights should be lower with smaller population, but guess that's not how it works.

I think quickfix is probably doomed as content to expensive for nz purchases.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#990696 19-Feb-2014 19:24

I'm with Sky at the moment. Pretty happy with the service, but the cost is on the steep side. I'm contemplating dropping them and going with a streaming service (personally I don't like to torrent).

But, if I do, it won't be Quickflix. In terms of price, range and release window, a VPN with Netflix, Hulu Plus, and which also allows access to other services such as iPlayer and Aussie network streaming sites is just vastly better value.

I'm not terribly interested in pay-per-view, and if I was I would tend to rent blu rays for the material in question (because I would be really keen on seeing that film, and BR quality still beats streaming). I'm more the fixed price for all I can eat type of consumer. If Quickflix wants to entice me they would need to:
- put out an app for the WD TV, which is what is networked and connected to my TVs (Netflix has one)
- price competitively with Netflix
- dramatically expand their range to something comparable with Netflix+Hulu, and
- get a better (comparable to US) release window for material.

Until then, not interested.

compost

295 posts

Ultimate Geek

#990737 19-Feb-2014 20:44

mattwnz:
Jas777: Mattwnz,

Problem with a 'all you can eat' price is that the really expensive items are normally not available as the cost to purchase to supply to the price to sell gives you no margin. You don't see many 'all you can eat places' serving the best quality steak or crayfish.

How do you propose unbundling? Considering that 95% of the content is sourced form overseas how can unbundling be applied to here?

Possibily something like a central buyer (something like pharmac ) who buys content and is government regulated, and pay and FTA tv companies can then buy the content from them.

How about: make exclusive broadcasting contracts illegal? (I think I've suggested this at least twice previously)

So if Sky does a deal with HBO, any other NZ broadcaster who wanted the same content could sign up on the same terms. All content deals must be listed on a register available to other NZ broadcasters.

There would be plenty of tricky details to be factored as Sky could try to make their deals very unattractive to competitors e.g. with incredibly short contract periods or by bundling platforms their competitors don't broadcast on. So contracts would have to fall within certain defined structures and parameters to prevent this. I would give the job of defining the detailed regulations to whoever came up with Pharmac as they did a great job of influencing market dynamics for the benefit of NZers.

Would HBO etc play ball? I doubt content owners would lose revenue since they would have more buyers. But at the end of the day they would have to suck it up like the pharmaceutical companies do. Big pharma had the choice to walk away from NZ when Pharmac was introduced, but they didn't because ultimately there's good money to be made here.

A time-poor geek is hardly a geek at all

loceff13

1065 posts

Uber Geek

#990773 19-Feb-2014 22:01

hairy1: The problem is that a pay operator in New Zealand holds all the content rights. We will never a Netflix type service in NZ in the current environment.

That said, I use Netflix.

You nailed it

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