Hacking NetFlix

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Complains about Comcast Blocking HBO on the Xbox

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has identified HBO as the biggest threat to Netflix, so it's interesting to see him complaining about Comcast blocking HBO on the Xbox on Facebook (anyone can subscribe to his Facebook posts).

C'mon Comcast -- free HBO on the Xbox and Roku!

Confirmed: Netflix Bought DVD.com Domain for Undisclosed Amount

Domain Name Wire confirmed that Netflix recently acquired the DVD.com domain (as noted on HackingNetflix last night) for an undisclosed amount. Guess they're still interesting in those shiny discs, at least enough to pay for the domain. 

Netflix Further Separates DVD-only and and Streaming-only Accounts

If you have a combined DVD and streaming account you probably haven't noticed, but if you have a DVD-only or streaming-only account you won't be able to see titles that are unavailable to you. While this makes sense (why show titles you can't rent or stream), it means you can't review, save or see reviews that aren't included in your plan. From Reddit:

As a DVD customer I'm now sent to a dvd.netflix.com subdomain that only has 3 customer reviews for a title that has hundreds on the Instant site. Also, this slipped under a lot of people's radar, but if Instant customers try to search for something that is only available on DVD, they'll instead get thousands of results for completely unrelated Instant titles.

So, if I am an Instant customer and go see The Artist in theaters and think it's the greatest movie I've ever seen, I can't go home and rate it 5 stars and begin getting recommendations for similar films that Netflix might have on Instant. Also, as a DVD customer I can no longer read any reviews that people may have written while having the Instant plan.

In related news, reader David points out that DVD.com goes to Netflix.com.

Thanks to G.S., Dave Zatz, and everyone else for sending this in.

Netflix "Buy Now" Button Makes Another Appearance

Netflix has again added a "Buy Now" button on a movie, this time on Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (it's just under the 'Add to DVD Queue' button). The link goes a DVD and Blu-ray page on the Universal Studios website.

Thanks to Brian for sending this in.

Casting Call This Sunday in D.C. for Netflix's 'House of Cards'

WTOP reports that there is a casting call this Sunday in D.C. for Netflix's upcoming series 'House of Cards."

Specifically, they're looking for 21- to 34-year-old men and women who can fill the roles of nameless political staffers and reporters, and people ages 40 to 60 to play politicians, lobbyists and reporters.

"Even though it's Sunday, don't wear shorts or anything like that. Look professional, because these pictures are going to be used forever," Wittmer instructs would-be actors.

Netflix has committed to produce 28 episodes, so this weekend's casting call is not expected to be the last.

Most of the shooting for the series will take place in Baltimore. A similar casting call held there last weekend drew about a thousand people. Wittmer says calls in D.C. tend to be larger.

The open call will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Hill Center on 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. Interested participants are asked to email a JPEG file photo of themselves including their name, phone number, height and weight to ccsubmissions01@gmail.com.

 

Netflix Not Saving 'Terra Nova' After All

Hollywood Reporter: Netflix is not going to save 'Terra Nova' after all.

Terra Nova is officially extinct, at least with Netflix. Just weeks after the company expressed interest in picking up the recently canceled Fox dinosaur drama, the streaming service has opted to pass on salvaging the series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, with Netflix and Terra Nova studio 20th Television unable to come to terms to revive the series. Netflix's name first surfaced early this month after Fox canceled the pricey drama from executive producer Steven Spielberg and 20th Television but talks ultimately broke down.

Thanks to Pat, Keith, Noor, & everyone else for sending this in.

Netflix Helps Mad Men Increase Viewers by 20%

Bloomberg cites an industry analyst report that gives Netflix credit for the increase in viewers of the new season of Mad Men.

The television series “Mad Men” drew 3.5 million viewers to its fifth season premiere, 20 percent more than in the previous debut, after Netflix Inc. made past seasons available on its streaming service.

The audience size grew because earlier seasons are available online, Benjamin Mogil, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., wrote today in a report. Viewers caught up on past episodes or were introduced to the program, increasing demand for last night’s broadcast, he said.

This news should help Netflix sign up more TV shows to help increase viewership of new seasons.

Comcast Xbox Streaming Doesn't Count Against Cap

Note: Updated story with Comcast blog post instead of original source.

The Comcast Blog reports explains why Comcast's upcoming Xbox streaming video won't count against the monthly 250gb Comcast data cap.

Any XfinityTV service that travels over the public Internet, including XfinityTV.com and our Xfinity TV app on mobile devices, counts toward our data usage threshold, as they always have. The Xfinity On Demand content that we will deliver to Xbox 360 will not travel over the public Internet and is delivered in much the same way as we deliver your video service to your set top box. Your Xbox 360 essentially acts as an additional cable box for your existing cable service. As a result, our data usage threshold does not apply.

For some context: our 250GB data threshold doesn't affect 99% of our customers. You can find more details in our FAQs here. From a streaming video perspective, you can stream hundreds of hours per month, depending on the bit rate.

via Engadget.

Netflix New Releases for March 27th, 2012

Here's the full list of new DVD releases this week (detailed list): A Dangerous Method, In the Land of Blood and Honey, Johnny English Reborn, Romantics Anonymous, The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch, The Hidden Face, The Yellow Sea, Miss Bala, Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, Camel Spiders, Breaking Wind, WWE: Bending the Rules, The Lion of Judah, and El Bulli: Cooking in Progress.

Interesting streaming releases includes Internal Affairs, To End All Wars, Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, American Teacher, Skateland, Sarah's Key, The Music Never Stopped, and The Assailant.

Will Netflix Save ABC TV Show 'The River?'

Update: Deadline reports that Terra Nova won't be saved by Netflix.

Deadline reports that Netflix is in early discussions to save the ABC show 'The River.'

I’ve learned that the streaming giant has had conversations with The River producer ABC Studios about the possibility of continuing the thriller/horror series on Netflix. Sources stress that the talks are exploratory at this point in the context of a larger conversation between ABC Studios and Netflix. The River never got traction on ABC, finishing its midseason run with a 1.4 18-49 rating for its finale Tuesday. But it is the type of show — a heavily serialized genre series — that works well on streaming services like Netflix. The River‘s Live+7 ratings bump, 36% vs. Live+Same Day according to the most recent available data, is solid though not as high as that of Terra Nova (44%), which also was higher-rated overall. DVR ratings are indicative of how many viewers prefer to “stream” a show on their own timetable instead of watching it the night it airs. 

Thanks to Pat, Keith, Noor and others for sending this in.