Online Streaming - and then not using it

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nzkiwiman

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#190751 11-Jan-2016 12:58

Just wondering if others purchase online streaming services and then not use it?
I signed up for my free month of Netflix (November 20th) in order to watch Jessica Jones. As of this post I have renewed my subscription once (December 20th) and have only watched 6 episodes.

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#1467522 11-Jan-2016 13:04

I cancelled my netflix after I was not able to move my US account to the 4k plan and keep the old pricing. Got rid of the NZ one when its trial was up.

Not worth it for the odd long form factor thing I have time to watch (TV shows/movies) - most of my screen time is spent on youtube these days.

Richard rich.ms

dclegg

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#1467525 11-Jan-2016 13:07

We're in that situation with HBO Now at the moment. We love the content, but the user experience on the Apple TV* is horrible. It doesn't remember what shows you're watching, and the closest it comes to help is to present the latest episode for seasons that drip feed their episodes. So it's a real chore to position yourself correctly when watching multi-season shows.

*Disclaimer: We've not tried out the new Apple TV app, so the situation may have improved.

ockel

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#1467526 11-Jan-2016 13:08

A survey in November last year of 5960 consumers across Australia, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, the UK and the USA found that 27% of consumers were looking to sign up to an OTT service for Christmas (in addition to the 25% already subscribed).
Some 40% expected to cancel within 3 months after their 1 month free period or 3 month discounted period ended.
And 33% of existing subscribers and 56% of those new to OTT at Xmas planned to cancel within the next 6 months. Would you believe 17% said "there isnt much to watch"??

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KrazyKid

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#1467536 11-Jan-2016 13:11

3 mth free lightbox got dropped when the free time was up.

Happy with Netflix.

I only watched S5 of Suits on lightbox anyway because the had it faster than Netflix at the time anyway.

gzt

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#1467594 11-Jan-2016 13:59

ockel: Would you believe 17% said "there isnt much to watch"??

Yeah that's me with Lightbox. I paid some time back and cancelled it after a couple of months. But then moving to Spark and getting a long trial period started it up again. On the plus side the long trial period made me realise it is good value at $12.95pm. I watched maybe three series and a few docs in 6 months so coming out somewhere even on box set prices. Those things will likely be removed over time? I think this is how it works so maybe limited time to watch again. There is an element of try before buy in that I watched some additional things I would not have looked at. Tldr; trial period showed it is ok value over long period but in short term run out of worthwhile stuff.

Behodar

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#1467596 11-Jan-2016 14:00

I used Netflix more in the winter than I have been over summer, but I do still use it occasionally and am not going to cancel. $13/month is hardly breaking the bank; it's less than 50c per day and I'm sure that all of us spend more than that on coffee, snacks, or whatever else your vice is :)

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vexxxboy

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#1467601 11-Jan-2016 14:02

i got rid of Netflix months ago, found i was spending more time flicking through the catalogue than watching anything. Havent missed it.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

ockel

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#1467620 11-Jan-2016 14:21

Behodar: I used Netflix more in the winter than I have been over summer, but I do still use it occasionally and am not going to cancel. $13/month is hardly breaking the bank; it's less than 50c per day and I'm sure that all of us spend more than that on coffee, snacks, or whatever else your vice is :)

Agreed! Estimates are that the average Netflix subscriber in the US watches two hours per day.
In Australia the Australian Communications Media Authority found that on average it was 9 hours per week. So 39 hours per month for $13. Cheap as chips. It's what happens when you run out of content to watch that interests me. Hope that $5bn spend by Netflix gets you enough new content per annum to keep it?

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NonprayingMantis

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#1467633 11-Jan-2016 14:36

I know people have different things they like to watch, but I really struggle to comprehend how people can look at Netflix or Lightbox and say "there isn't much to watch"

When I look at the catalogues of either of those (even NZ netflix which is the weakest library) and see hundreds of hours of content I want to watch.
My watchlist on Netflix has thousands of hours of stuff I would like to watch!

e.g. something like parks and recreation - an amazingly good show - 6 seasons of around 20 episodes each equates to something like 60 hours of content - just on 1 (one!) single show.
at an average of 2 hours per night that alone will satisfy me for around a month.
And there are literally dozens of shows on each service I would like to watch, many of which have multiple seasons with 10-100 hours of content. My main problem is deciding what to watch first!

Personally, I subscribe to Netflix and Lightbox - together around $25/m. Unbelievably good value compared to something like Sky Basic at $45/m.

My viewing habits change depending on what I am watching (and whether it's on my own or with the wife) but I would say the split is around 60% Netflix USA, 30% Lightbox, 10% Netflix 'other regions' (canada has good movies, UK has some good british shows)

Wade

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#1467640 11-Jan-2016 14:53

Netflix has a great range of children's programming which i find invaluable, my 3yo doesn't comprehend the inability (well until recently) to 'on demand' watch SkyTv.

We mainly watch movies rather than TV series on Netflix, even if you watched only 3~4 movies a month it is still worth the monthly subscription. We are still on our free Lightbox subscription but at this stage we intend to carry on with the service once that runs out. SkyTv on the other hand is just digging itself a great old hole at our place, we got the software upgrade last week, at least for us this is nothing more than lipstick on a pig and to be honest Freeview plus looks like a more suitable option for us so Sky's time is fast coming to an end

littleheaven

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#1468097 12-Jan-2016 00:20

I signed up for Netflix and Hulu about 9 months ago and I can honestly say I'm using either one or the other regularly. Hulu gets more use because it has next-day streaming of new shows that I'm not patient enough to wait for on NZ television (been watching Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Voice every week). Netflix makes for great fill-in watching and movies for the young fella. I'm happy that, for less than $30 per month, I get the choice of more content that I ever did with Sky. I'll be keeping my subscriptions going.

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Smithy47

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#1468131 12-Jan-2016 07:20

littleheaven: I signed up for Netflix and Hulu about 9 months ago and I can honestly say I'm using either one or the other regularly. Hulu gets more use because it has next-day streaming of new shows that I'm not patient enough to wait for on NZ television (been watching Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Voice every week). Netflix makes for great fill-in watching and movies for the young fella. I'm happy that, for less than $30 per month, I get the choice of more content that I ever did with Sky. I'll be keeping my subscriptions going.

Hi, how did you go about getting signed up to Hulu. I just get kicked out.

Thanks for any info.

Smithy

richms

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#1468137 12-Jan-2016 07:35

Smithy47:
Hi, how did you go about getting signed up to Hulu. I just get kicked out.

Thanks for any info.

What unblocker are you using? I had no issues signing up using unotelly, but I remember someone in the past saying that they couldnt on one of the other ones and had to use a VPN to get the setup process done, once setup they were fine watching on their unblocker.

Richard rich.ms

littleheaven

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#1468660 12-Jan-2016 19:52

Smithy47:
littleheaven: I signed up for Netflix and Hulu about 9 months ago and I can honestly say I'm using either one or the other regularly. Hulu gets more use because it has next-day streaming of new shows that I'm not patient enough to wait for on NZ television (been watching Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Voice every week). Netflix makes for great fill-in watching and movies for the young fella. I'm happy that, for less than $30 per month, I get the choice of more content that I ever did with Sky. I'll be keeping my subscriptions going.

Hi, how did you go about getting signed up to Hulu. I just get kicked out.

Thanks for any info.

You should be using a DNS unblocker like Unotelly on the device you sign up on. I provided a US address and phone number (I used my YouShop US details) and my Air NZ OneSmart travel debit MasterCard as the payment method. You can also subscribe with a US iTunes account, if you have one.

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pbgben

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#1468671 12-Jan-2016 20:22

We have a "family" Netflix, My father set it up for my 8yr old sister, I love the originals they have on there, I also have access to a European Plex server, which streams very well considering the distance.

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