Hacking NetFlix

Netflix Customer Service Layoff in Hillsboro & Hiring in Santa Clara - Updated

Update:  Netflix has disputed the number of people laid off this week, noting that it's a fraction of that number. Netflix is reducing the size of the Hillsboro call center, and they're hiring in Santa Clara. Netflix is also using third-party customer support centers, so the total size of the customer service staff is actually growing.

A source at Netflix sent over the following email about layoffs at the Netflix Hillboro customer service center.

"I thought it pertinent to you that today Netflix laid off 100 CSR's and employees, leaving the center staffed at 30% of what it was a year ago, after being on a hiring freeze since last September. While this freeze was ongoing, the newly opened Santa Clara Call Center (July '11), has been actively hiring and training weekly, as per Netflix's standard practice. Amidst the freeze of the last year in Hillsboro, along with atrition and layoffs, the current count is 3 Team Managers (From 6), 21 Supervisors, and about 300 CSR's. I expect this layoff number to increase over the next two days, as those with today off filter in on their 'monday'."

Joris Evers, Netflix's Director of Global Corporate Communications, said the following regarding the reduction:

"Our US support team has grown as our membership has grown, but we have reduced a number of temporary positions in our Hillsboro, Oregon, facility."

How would you rate your recent experiences with the Netflix support staff?

Are Studios Addicted to Netflix Streaming Money?

paidContent reports that Analyst Tony Wibble believes the studios are becoming addicted to Netflix streaming money (and upgraded the stock from "sell" to "neutral").

For one, Wible noted that TV Everywhere — the cable industry’s attempt to counteract subscription video-on-demand services like Netflix and Hulu by porting over pay TV content to digital devices — is moving at an “embarrassingly slow pace.”

Wible also believes Netflix’s pipeline to premium Hollywood content remains safe, even though content licensors like Viacom are seeing their traditional models negatively impacted by subscription streaming.

In fact, referring to what he calls a “studio addiction” on Netflix, Wible described something of a vicious circle, whereby media companies see their ratings and ad revenue hurt by Netflix streaming, and respond by licensing even more content to the service.

Lovefilm Signs Deal with Fox; Streaming War in England Intensifies

Engadget reports that Lovefilm has signed a deal with Fox in the U.K. for films and TV shows, a sure sign that they are willing to go to war with Netflix. From the press release:  

LOVEFiLM members will have instant, exclusive on-demand access to what is known as the second pay television window of Twentieth Century Fox film content. The film deal commences with titles theatrically released in the UK in 2011, which will be made available to subscribers to the LOVEFiLM service as early as March 2013.

The deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution will also give LOVEFiLM members access to movies and TV series from the studio's library of much-loved titles, and will add to LOVEFiLM's already extensive TV catalogue. TV titles from Twentieth Century Fox's television library, available from July 2012, will include early seasons of motorcycle drama Sons of Anarchy and all seasons of 24, Prison Break, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.

HBO and Showtime Put New Season Episodes of Newsroom & Weeds Online for Free

Kottke reports that HBO has put the first episode of the new Aaron Sorkin series Newsroom on YouTube for free, and in a similar move Showtime has put the first episode of the new season of Weeds on Facebook (but you have to watch and episode of Episodes first).

Too bad it's just a tease and we're probably years away from watching HBO or Showtime shows without a cable subscription.

Report: BBC Exec Believes Third Party Streaming Deals Could Wipe 80% of Revenue

TechCrunch reports that at a BBC meeting a senior exec said that if the BBC content was offered through streaming services like Netflix it could wipe out up to 80% of BBC revenue.

According to one account of a presentation made last Friday by Dan Heaf, EVP and managing director of digital for BBC Worldwide (the BBC’s commercial arm), Heaf reportedly said that if everyone got their BBC content via services like Netflix at its current subscription rates — the equivalent of $7.99 or £5.99 per month — it could wipe out 80 percent of BBC Worldwide’s revenues. To be clear, the BBC, which didn’t invite media to the event, has denied the percentage. But it does admit that its digital business is less profitable and generates less revenues for it right now as they transition away from more traditional forms of media, and that is driving the company to find new ways to grow that digital business:

“Audiences are transitioning from physical to digital platforms and BBC Worldwide understands the importance of using these new platforms in order to grow reach and revenue. However, as digital platforms can be less profitable than traditional physical platforms, BBC Worldwide is managing the transition by developing new additive [digital] revenues,” a spokesperson says, citing live events,BBC.com and BBC Global iPlayer as three of these.

Netflix Releases Statement Regarding Streaming Caption Lawsuit Setback

Netflix responded to the recent denial of dismissal in the captions lawsuit with the following statement:

“Netflix has always been committed to making its content accessible to members of the deaf and hard of hearing community. More than 80% of the hours streamed in the US are movies and TV shows with captions or subtitles available. We have committed to providing captions wherever we can procure them from the content owner and we have an active program to author subtitles for significant content where they are not already available. The framework that the FCC has established is an important part of ensuring captioned or subtitled content can be most efficiently provided. We believe the FCC regulations provide the most comprehensive and appropriate guidance to businesses on captioning.”

Netflix New Releases for June 26th, 2012

Here's the full list of Netflix new DVD releases this week (detailed list): The Artist, 21 Jump Street, A Thousand Words, C'mon Man, Joyful Noise, New Year's Eve, The Decoy Bride, The Perfect Family, Oranges and Sunshine, Hiding, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, Bullhead, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Sound of Noise, and The Hedgehog.

Interesting streaming releases in the past week include Louie (new episodes), Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, Battle Royale, Battle Royale 2, Apocalypse Now Redux, Woody Allen: A Documentary, Let the Bullets Fly, GasLand, Young Goethe in Love, and Amador.

Netflix Faces Setback in National Association of the Deaf Streaming Caption Lawsuit

The National Association of the Deaf announced that Netflix faced a setback in the streaming caption lawsuit.

The underlying lawsuit alleges that Netflix violates the ADA by failing to provide closed captioning on most of its “Watch Instantly” programming streamed on the Internet, thereby denying equal access to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Netflix argued that the ADA applies only to physical places and therefore could not apply to website-only businesses like Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” streaming service. Judge Ponsor denied the motion, stating that it would be “irrational to conclude” that: “places of public accommodation are limited to actual physical structures…In a society in which business is increasingly conducted online, excluding businesses that sell services through the Internet from the ADA would run afoul of the purposes of the ADA and would severely frustrate Congress’s intent that individuals with disabilities fully enjoy the goods, services, privileges and advantages, available indiscriminately to other members of the general public.” Moreover, Judge Ponsor stated that the fact that the ADA “does not include web-based services as a specific example of a public accommodation is irrelevant” since such web-based services did not exist when the ADA was passed in 1990 and because “the legislative history of the ADA makes clear that Congress intended the ADA to adapt to changes in technology.”

Earlier this year Netflix announced that 80% of streaming hours have been captioned, but it looks like Netflix might have to caption everything.

Netflix Makes Controversial Changes to API Program

Netflix announced several key changes to the developer API program, including the removal of expiration dates of titles except for the ones expiring in two weeks, removal of customer rental data, and a change to the API terms of use.

The only reason I can think of Netflix not wanting to share expiration dates is for competitive reasons -- I don't think they really want to upset any customers after last year. If Amazon, Apple, Redbox or other competitor knew that a title like Mad Men was expiring in 3 months, they could try to out-bid Netflix for the title or just drive up the renewal price. By hiding this data Netflix is making it harder for competitors to know the length of contracts or the expiration dates of agrements. 

I proposed to a contact at Netflix that they warn customers with expiring series in their queue a month or more in advance, which could give them time to finish watching it, and was told that they would take it under consideration.

I wanted to get developer feedback on the changes, so I contacted the publishers of two popular Netflix-related websites and applications:

Raghu Srinivasan from Feedfliks had this to say about the changes, "I am disappointed, of course. I think it's a bad move wrt developer relations. To an extent, I can see that their private API so far outstrips the public API in usage that they need to assign resources and attention appropriately but with this, I think they have swung the pendulum too far. Back when they announced that they were going to remove all DVD related info from the API, it was at least consistent with the company structure to become streaming only and leaving DVDs to Qwikster. This move makes even less sense than that - and that's saying something! It's a great API and the folks on the team and awesome but it's a pity that so much of the effort has gone to cutting back what's available (first reviews, then expiry dates and now this) and so little to actually making more information available. I hope they change their mind but I am not optimistic that they will."

Daniel Choi from Instantwatcher: "The API changes don't affect the operation of Instantwatcher, with the possible exception of the change in future expiration dates.  Most of the upcoming API changes will only require us to change a few lines of code, to point our API querying code to a different URL, and minor things like that. The structure of the API data is staying the same, so our API data parsers won't have to be rewritten. Instantwatcher also doesn't use the parts of the API that going to be deprecated, since Instantwatcher doesn't query anyone's rental history. In the past instant streaming titles had expiration dates sometimes several months into the future. But now they won't have specific expiration dates unless they are due to expire within the next two weeks. I don't think most users will be too upset by this change."

Thanks to everyone that sent this in (there are too many to list).

Viewers Check Netflix Before Watching VOD, HBO or Showtime

Home Media Magazine cites a Parks Associate report that says customers are checking Netflix before renting movies on video on demand or watching HBO or Showtime.

Dallas-based Parks found that 16% of U.S. broadband homes consider using an SVOD service such as Netflix (or Hulu Plus) when watching movies on VOD. Another 17% of respondents check out Netflix before watching programming on premium channels such as HBO and Showtime.

The latter statistic is noteworthy considering Time Warner-owned HBO is aggressively seeking to circumvent the rise in SVOD popularity through its acclaimed HBO Go platform, which allows subscribers to access the premium channel's programming in high-definition on myriad consumer electroncis devices any time.