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Report From NATPE: Turner President Predicts the End of Netflix

Jan 29, 2014  •  Post A Comment

"The End of Netflix?" was the screaming headline of the main story in today’s NATPE Daily, a print publication available to attendees at NATPE’s annual convention this week in Miami Beach.

The story says, "SVOD giant Netflix will be toppled by the growth of TV Everywhere within two years, the president of Turner Broadcasting System told NATPE delegates yesterday [Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014]."

That person is David Levy, who spoke at a marketing session at the convention. The story reports that Levy "said there ‘won’t be a need for Netflix’ once broadcasters and media companies finalized negotiations and rolled out their TV Everywhere services, following a slow start. ‘The challenge is that TV Everywhere is not working right now,’ Levy said."

Levy added, according to the story, "Netflix is really getting a huge advantage in the sense that there’s no easy way to watch all this programming, so they have come in for a very nominal price and figured out an easy way to navigate through all this content."

According to NATPE Daily, Levy added, "Remember, these devices don’t work without great content. You can buy a great iPhone and if there’s no content on it, who cares? In the end game TV Everywhere will be what the consumers want and it will be easy to authenticate."

The article did not say why just the existence of TV Everywhere by other content players would lead to the demise of Netflix, given that Levy said Netflix has a service that is available for "a very nominal price" and has "figured out an easy way to navigate through all this content," and that the service is clearly very popular with consumers. Plus, Netflix also has Emmy-winning, Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award-nominated original content to compliment the library programs and movies that it licenses.

david levy-turner.pngDavid Levy

10 Comments

  1. Somebody please explain why Netflix is supposed to be so great? Okay for recent-release megaplex stuff. Much much, straight to DVD crap. And whenever I ask for something prominent, but indie (a good test is Half Nelson) Netflix never, ever has it. But they do have Porky’s XIV etc.
    So how do I find Half Nelson et al without downloading somebody’s sketchy player from conmen in Romania?

  2. I like Netflix, but I use it primarily for watching TV shows, rarely for movies. As for the “end” of Netflix in 2 years? Levy wishes it was so. I highly doubt he’s right.

  3. Hi Don. For one, you can find “Half Nelson” on Amazon Instant Video, which is Amazon’s streaming service.

    Chuck Ross
  4. Netflix doesn’t have everything but it has things you may never have watched otherwise. Like Downton Abbey? Well, try The Forsythe Saga on Netflix and be blown away. And you can carry it with you anywhere. I had lunch with Tina Fey every day for months by watching an episode of 30 Rock with my meal. I’m sure I’m not the only one who watched the series finale of Breaking Bad and then went to Netflix the next day to watch just how great the show was from episode one. Fighting the flu gave me a chance to watch all of Orange is the New Black this past week and then try out Chloe Sevgny as a transexual hitman in Hit & Miss. When I go to Netflix I have a great experience. The exact opposite of being blocked by networks who demand an authentication of a cable subscription to watch a show. This past weekend ABC blocked me from seeing This Week because the cable company I use isn’t one of their “partners.” TV Anywhere? Right. Netflex makes me happy. These other companies piss me off.

  5. Actually, I just did a quick search and found Half Nelson IS available on Netflix. It was actually Netflix Instant Watch of the Week back on June 14, 2012.

  6. I think Levy might be right, but not in the way he thinks. If the big media production companies can roll out a TV Anywhere system for their programming, while would they need Netflix? But they won’t need a Turner either.
    People talk about phones as a “second screen,” but it’s really the first screen already. What screen do you carry with you everywhere – even into the bathroom!

  7. Totally agree with you, Mark. Wanted to catch up on some recent Rachel Maddow episodes on my iPad late last night, but the MSNBC app wouldn’t let me watch a complete episode till I logged in with my cable company. Too bad I don’t remember my cable company password.
    AARGH!
    Is there any reason this has to be so difficult? Why should MSNBC care where I watch their programs. They’re being paid by the advertisers, aren’t they?

  8. It’s his hair that made him say it. Maybe? Yes, in brief retrospect, I think so. His hair.

  9. “…it will be easy to authenticate.” Meaning if you don’t pay for cable, you’re SOL (Just like NBC’s BS Olympic streaming plan). That’s been the real holdup of TV Everywhere. If they wanted to provide it for free, it would have been “everywhere” 5 years ago. Why the hell would I pay $99 dollars a month for 99% crap? According to this guy, in 2 years, I will be able to stream that garbage to my phone. HOORAY! OTA broadcast and Netflix, combined with pirate streams and downloads supplies me with all the TV and movies that I could ever want. Best thing about pirated content? NO AUTHENTICATION and NO BLACKOUT RULES. Most stuff I pirate is not available for me to purchase, unless I spend $99 a month on cable. Keep dreaming, Levy. I can’t believe they pay you!

  10. Levy’s a douchbag.

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