As a Netflix subscriber, I have always enjoyed the availability of DVDs both instantly and through mail order. It became disconcerting when the movie I desired to see,“ Paycheck” could not be found in the “Watch Instantly” cue. I was not a happy camper. I decided to try new Video-on-Demand Service offered through Walmart. The services uses VUDU, allowing one to only pay for the movies that are watched, streamed instantly through any venue: game consoles, computer/laptops, Blue Ray, or Ipod.
Does video-on-demand present serious competition to Netflix, BlockBuster, or Redbox? With increasing demands for movies, as well as consumer conscious spending due to the uncertain economic conditions, and the dramatic rises in ownership of technological devices, I will venture to premise the Video- On-Demand may indeed be the Red Queen within this market. This Red Queen has gained steamed in light of the recent study stating the decline of cable users in recent months. The higher costs of cable subscriptions may hold at least a portion of the blame for this decline in subscriptions as consumers find more inexpensive ways to satisfy their need to viewing.
Netflix with its increase in prices, and the splitting of its On Demand Service from the DVD services have come under attack in recent weeks. Most of us Netflix customers are not happy with the increasing costs associated with this service. In addition, we must wait for approximately 28 days from the time the movie is released to the public before Netflix customers have the opportunity to use the service for requests.
Within McLuhan’s Tetrad where would I place DVD and Video-On-Demand ? Such a thought provoking question. I believe I would place these items within the Tetrad as follows:
DVD and Video-On-Demand
Enhances: On Demand video viewing within the comfortable settings: home, office, etc.
Obsoletes: Need to be in stationary location, with one stationary device
Reverses: Rekindles home movie video viewing
Retrieves: services available at one’s fingertips on any technological device: game console, TV, smartphones, music devices with video services (Ipod)
References
Big Cable is Bleeding: 500K+Subscribers Lost in 3rd Quarter: http://gigaom.com/video/big-cable-is-bleeding-500k-subscribers-lost-last-quarter/
Challenge to Netflix: Walmart is Now Streaming Vudu Video on Demand: http://seekingalpha.com/article/281857-challenge-to-netflix-walmart-is-now-streaming-vudu-video-on-demand
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI found your post fascinating because it makes me realize how being overseas severely limits my access to these most recent technologies and services. Additionally, now that my children are away at college, I am less exposed to the habits that young people have in order to access the media of their choice. I think that you are correct in stating that the price point is a motivating factor for consumers. Netflix services obsoleted video rental stores like Blockbuster. However, now we are seeing that a store like Walmart steps up to compete with Netflix for video-on-demand services. Once again Walmart provides a reasonably priced option for consumers. Their ability to provide a good product that makes sense at a good price is just enough to look like a Red Queen. I have heard the talk about customer's frustration with the direction that Netflix has gone. Walmart seems to have been at the right place at the right time and may just be the Red Queen that is giving Netflix a run for its money.