Welcome to the Discussions & Ideas page for October - December 2017
Once again, it's time to start a fresh page for Discussions & Ideas, to allow plenty of room for new comments. Previous pages have been archived, so you can look at what has gone before. Links to those pages are in the sidebar.
This page is an open forum and catchall for discussing anything about Netflix, this blog, and/or other related topics. Feel free to ask questions, make suggestions, share information, offer opinions, even rant if something is bugging you (although we now have a very nice "Complaining" page that is especially good for that).
The body of this page will be used to keep everyone updated when there is blog news, and to ask for feedback about improvements/changes/additions, etc. Of course, your participation is always optional and voluntary.
Other Open Discussion Pages
When a particular topic generates a lot of discussion, it will be spun off to its own specific Discussion page. Links to open Discussion pages follow. Please feel free to add comments to any of these. If your comments do not fit any of these topics, then please add them here, in the comments section below.
New Page!: Netflix DVD Subscription Service - Problems, Questions, Changes
The New Netflix Ratings System of Thumbs Up or Down
Netflix "My List" - Problems/Questions/Changes/Updates
All Things Related to the Netflix-Disney Deal
Issues Around Netflix's Policies Regarding Expiration Notices
Complain About Netflix: Vent, Kvetch, Whine, Grouse - Get It Off Your Chest!
My goal: A blog that looks polished and feels complete (not giving up on this!), and that offers helpful content for all, without detracting from the sacred mission of giving followers as much lead time as possible to watch expiring titles.
Thanks to the many contributors who share their time, knowledge, and expertise to keep the blog interesting, informative, and fresh in a variety of ways. It is truly a collaborative effort, and I'm honored to be part of it.
Thanks to the many contributors who share their time, knowledge, and expertise to keep the blog interesting, informative, and fresh in a variety of ways. It is truly a collaborative effort, and I'm honored to be part of it.
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| This is a screenshot of the opening of How I Met Your Mother. The availability notice is in the upper left corner of the screen. The yellow arrow and box around the notice are mine. This notice stays up very briefly, so from the moment you hit Play, you have to glue your eyes to that spot on the screen. Also, it will only show once per day. If you were to watch the next episode right after this one, there would not be a notice on that one. |
ReplyDeleteWellesley72 October 3, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Gilmore Girls (2000) was accidentally removed on 10/1. After a Twitter storm, it was back streaming by the end of the day.
unless you are a big fan of their originals, you will soon be paying 10% more for less.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2017-10-05/netflix-raising-us-prices-by-10-pct-for-most-popular-plan
Oh, yay. I doubt this will be enough to make me drop the service entirely, but I will probably pull the trigger on checking out Hulu a bit faster. Admittedly, I haven't watched too many of their originals outside of a few comedy specials, so maybe I will find that they are worth it, but I don't like the trend of focusing more on originals than licensed content.
DeleteI do like their no commercials plan. I got an e-mail from Hulu listing a bunch of licensed shows (like 30 Rock) and saying "Don't Panic" so they do seem to be aware of people's frustrations with Netflix.
DeleteNetflix Is staking its future on original content, while Hulu is clearly focused on licensing content (as befits a company owned by NBC, ABC, Fox/FX and Warner Brothers). Amazon Prime started with free delivery and has branched out to free video and audio streaming, free kindle books, free grocery delivery—and who knows what else, but with Amazon losing its HBO content next year and its success in the movie business, my guess is that Amazon will be expanding its original content in the future. Hulu has by far the least original content, consisting mostly of The Handmaiden’s Tale and some exclusive (at least in the US) British and Canadian imports. Both Netflix and Amazon produce content in-house, while all of Hulu’s content comes from third parties. Clearly, Netflix is not the streaming service it was 10 years ago but, for better or worse, it has never pretended that it wanted to stream every single TV show ever made over the last 20 years. I am as disappointed as anyone in losing some of the network content that they have either been unable or unwilling to retain (and quite frankly I don’t know whose fault that is), and I have recently subscribed to Hulu, in addition to Netflix and Amazon Prime. I also have the commercial-free plan, having been spoiled by Netflix. If you want my thoughts about Netflix raising its prices, please go to the Complaints page. In brief, I don’t know what they have done for their US customers in 2017 that justifies a price increase. They have added a lot of new content, but as someone at HBO remarked recently (and as the head of FX has said on many occasions) paying a lot of money does not guarantee quality programming, and Netflix has a serious quality control problem. In addition, I have yet to figure out what their original movie strategy is. They have come up with some high-cost duds (War Machine, anyone); they have some movies that do well at festivals but which wouldn’t justify a studio release and they have some good films (like First They Killed My Father, Okja and Our Souls at Night). However, they seem to spend zero dollars on promoting these films with their subscribers so they might as well be adding straight-to-DVD movies since most subscribers can’t tell the difference. I see no reason, except to stroke their egos, not to have theatrical releases of their high quality films and then add them to streaming three months later, which is what Amazon has done. Does anyone really care about a three-month delay?
DeleteThis has definitely put Netflix and I on wobbly footing.
DeleteIt's obvious that Netflix is not making content for me. I've only watched one of their shows all of the way through and none of their movies. Now I'll be paying more for content that I don't watch.
Between Acorn, BritBox, PBS and Hulu I rarely find myself opening up Netflix these days. I'm definitely going to have to take a serious look at continuing with Netflix.
What I loved about Netflix was the variety and that seems to be on the way out. I signed up for a content streaming platform not a content producer.
Wow I could not have said it better myself. I opened up NF yesterday was not in the mood for Heartland and after 20 minutes I gave up I could not find no new series to watch, nothing. I went back to Boomerang, Funimation and Hulu for the rest of the night.
DeleteNetflix could have been down and I would not have cared. Years ago when NF went down I was a nervous wreck.
netflix shares are about to hit over $200 for the first time, so investors have given their blessing for the price increase. i don't think i'm alone here in feeling like netflix caters to its investors more than its customers, but most of us, definitely myself included, are not who netflix envision their customers to be, although we are a reliable piggy bank.
DeleteThese investors are a freaking joke. Really ticks me off when I try to find user input on about price increases and all I find is how raising there rates is good because of there "quality" original garbage programming.
DeleteLets not forget those are the same jerks that said NF does not needs Disney because they have "Millarworld" which makes adult comics. One even said that very few watch Disney shows. Get lost if I can reach out and punch these morons who write this crud in the face I would.
the weinstein company (TWC) is one among the seemingly dwindling number of outside content providers to netflix. cofounder and belatedly outed serial sexual harasser harvey weinstein has been fired from the company. i imagine this will have some effect on the content provided to netflix (and a rippling effect in the industry overall). like its antecedent, miramax, TWC has some of the highest quality recent mainstream hollywood movies for adults on offer or in the pipeline.
ReplyDeletenetflix can now attribute the #metoo wave to a potential loss of millions of dollars and customers. because of the ongoing kevin spacey accusations, they had to cancel their flagship show, house of cards. a lot of people signed up for and maintained monthly netflix subscriptions specifically for this show, and it's fair to say they still don't have much else of the same quality, at least for older adults.
Deletehbo is removing louis c.k. content from its streaming service so don't be surprised if netflix follows suit. one of the standups is a netflix original, but netflix just shelved a nearly completed biopic of gore vidal with kevin spacey so money is not really an object when it comes to public relations in their minds. (they make bad decisions with money all the time anyway.)
Deletethe latest house of cards graphic that i saw distorts kevin spacey's face. i can't imagine netflix pulling this series, but i doubt they'll ever use a spacey photo to advertise it again. there's not much they can do to advertise a louis c.k. standup except show his name or face, which understandably a lot of people don't want to see right now.
by the same token, recent netflix original def comedy jam 25 could be removed because of what is being said about def jam mogul russell simmons, but based on the lack of other removals it seems unlikely.
Delete(i am keeping an eye on TWC content, but it seems to be getting pulled at the normal rate. maybe others have a different take on that.)
So this is a question for anybody that knows. I've noticed that most SyFy shows end up on Netflix (but not all, The Expanse has yet to show up). Does anyone know about their original movies, if they show up on Netflix mostly as well? Or can anyone explain to me how they pick and choose what ends up on Netflix? I'm looking for Neverknock, and I just want to know if it has a good chance (or no chance) of ending up on Netflix.
ReplyDeletenot all but a lot. i'm still waiting for childhood's end and, more recently, incorporated and channel zero. the expanse is on amazon prime so i wouldn't expect that to come to netflix streaming. even if you're not a customer, you might want to cross-check amazon to see if something is on prime there because the direction each company is going in is exclusivity.
Deletethe sharknado films find their way to netflix streaming. i don't know syfy movies well enough to recognize more, but i think sharknado is a special case.
DeleteAccording to IMDb, Neverknock just aired on SyFy, so if it does come to Netflix, I imagine it won't be for a while. As an example, Sharknado aired on SyFy in July 2013. According to instantwatcher, it came to Netflix in May 2015, almost 2 years later.
Thanks. Yeah, I figured it'd be a wait, I just wanted to know if I should be looking somewhere else while I waited or not. And I will check out amazon prime as well, Travis, thanks.
DeleteSo, my queue doesn't show the expiration date for Salem on the right, it doesn't show the expiration when I scroll over on the details page, it only shows it when I try to watch it and the little notice appears on the top left corner. Is this par for the course now? Last time I checked, expiration notices hadn't disappeared off the queue list.
ReplyDeleteNetflix will do that if the entire show isn't leaving. So for Salem, only season 1 is leaving right now. If you look carefully at the notice, it'll say "This season available until..." If you look at, say, Leverage, it'll say "This show available until..." (or whatever the exact wording is). But they distinguish between season and show. When the DVD side had expiration dates on it, they used to display season-specific expirations on the DVD page for that season, but alas, Netflix hates us.
DeleteOkay, got it. Thanks.
DeleteYep, cut us off mid season. I'm not sure where the notice "This season available until..." was suppose to be. We never saw a notice. Oh, and it's not available on dvd to watch the now unavailable episodes.
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DeleteI'm sorry you got cut off from Season 1 of Salem, Lee K. The business of expiring series piecemeal is very troublesome. I have put up a screenshot of the notice that appears on ALL series when one or more seasons are going to expire. The screenshot is in the main body of this page, just before Comments start. The big problem with series that expire one season at a time is that this notice is the ONLY place Netflix tells you about it. And of course, you can't see it unless you happen to watch it, and know to always look for notices.
Another way you can find out about such things (not always, but sometimes) is to read this blog. Season 1 of Salem was on the FOX page since the middle of July, and on the main list on the Home page for a month. Sigh.
Yes, I know. I've been negligent in checking the blog. Life just got busy. While I appreciate all the work everyone puts forth keeping the blog updated on what Netflix is about to pull out from under us, Netflix puts little to no effort into this important part of customer service. I called CS yesterday and it was obvious I was talking to someone trained in deflection, their version of Customer Service. The elephant in the room was hard to avoid, but avoid they did. To compare the effort Netflix would have to exert to say, send an email if something on your list came up for expiration to the amount of time users have to spend updating and checking the blog daily or weekly is ridiculous. Or for Netflix to simply put a code next to a title indicating expiration in whole or for a season. If you think about it, they go out of their way to delay notifying subscribers by timing the posting of expiration notices when they could put the notice up as soon as they know. It's truly a let them eat cake attitude. How many hours a week are people spending to not get screwed over by Netflix? I review MyList almost every day and they still screwed us. Netflix is going to make a great stock short one day.
DeleteThanks Carol for posting the pic of the wonderful notice Netflix bestows upon the peasants when a season is expiring. It's clear Netflix cares enough to print such fine text and go the extra mile to make sure we're not annoyed with this information for too long. The extra coding to make sure we are not reminded on each episode is another fine touch too. They truly care. I'm touched.
I have to say, we've been watching Salem over the month of October and have NEVER seen that fine print. Nor the “Skip Intro” button, which says this isn't from a Smart-TV. Is that expiration notice provided on all platforms? All Smart-TVs?
i watch through the PS3 app, and the notice is bigger and brighter but still fleeting (probably less than 5 seconds) and only appears on one episode per expiring season/series per day, also in the top left corner. it's flashy enough that i always see it, but i rarely watch a series that is expiring (most of mine that expire tend to have dozens to hundreds of episodes so i don't bother in the last measly month amid whatever else is expiring).
Delete(i don't have a "skip intro" at the start either, but at the end of the episode there's a way to start the next episode that skips the intro, which can mean skipping the recap as well as the opening credits. i like recaps and reading any changing credits so i'm more likely to skip ahead manually, if anything.)
also, i agree with you that netflix goes out of its way to hold back this crucial information. if i had my way, every title on manually sorted My List would have its current expiration date, even if it's an original netflix licensed from another company with a contract not up for decades, and if it's a series it produced outright then it can have the infinity symbol.
With binge watching, the beginning and ending of each episode of series that have continuous plots becomes almost irrelevant to me. At the end of an episode I start the next episode which skips the recap. I just watched it, so why do I need a recap. About half the time, I will simply stop watching an episode somewhere in the middle, since it's like one long movie anyway, and resume as time permits. It might be that this bypasses the token notice Netflix provides at the start of episodes, but Salem was one we generally watched one entire episode at a time, so they get no excuses. It's customer service that reeks of disdain for subscribers. Displaying their token notice once per day per expiring series takes more coding than simply providing a notice at the beginning of each expiring episode. As the ONLY notice of an expiring season makes it even more appalling. As with everything, they have an agenda. Why create functionality to only display expiring notices for a window of time? Movies get what, a week? Series get approximately a month's notice? WTH Why not just display it? Why go out of their way to screw with us?
Deletei'm a bit nerdy when it comes to credits. i like seeing who guest starred, wrote, and directed. even in the end credits, i like to see who the small parts were played by and the character names. i also don't like binge watching; it's really a last resort for me, not a preference. recaps are more useful to me, especially as they recall several episodes back or even a previous season.
Deletei believe that if you are skipping opening and closing credits it's going to be harder to see those expiration notices, which for me are at the very start because i'm not skipping intros. netflix may think it's doing you a favor getting them out of sight for you as soon as possible.
the customer service is terrible if you know even a little of what you're talking about. i'm sure most of us have experienced being the more knowledgeable end of a conversation with an employee, even a supervisor. (i don't know about you, but i've been incorrectly told that expiring movies get one month of notice as well as shows.) calling in is almost pointless unless there is a specific technical issue to report, and chances are they won't have an answer. with a company as big and successful as netflix, you have to suspect that stonewalling customers is part of their business strategy. they'll get away with it as long as the subscriber rates keep climbing.
The “next episode” option shouldn't skip the ONLY notice of expiration of a season. Of course, that shouldn't be the ONLY notice either. That's not a bug, it's not a favor, it's poor design.
DeleteThe “in training” CS rep kept trying to tell me they email notices of expirations. Even walked me through the menu options to get to email notifications, which clearly didn't include expirations, and still told me that checking all four boxes would get me the information. It was like talking to the dog and expecting an answer. Like you said, pointless. Even with a technical issue.
The more I learn about Hollywood, the less I care about credits. Their job is to convince me they are someone they are not. Another way of saying it is, their job is to mislead me. To believe things that are not true. Some of them are very good at it. I like to think I keep that in perspective. What you see is not real, it's entertainment to me and nothing more. I find myself canceling more and more shows I've started because it's not entertainment, but instead some political message disguised as entertainment. Needless to say, they are not my roll models.
I think I'll just read a book tonight.
Not my role models.
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DeleteInteresting discussion, Lee K and Travis. I agree with everything both of you said. I tend to be a credits nerd, like you, Travis, but Lee K, your point about that is well taken.
I like the word, "deflection," to describe the Netflix Customer Service technique of not really addressing - or accepting - our concern, but remaining politely positive. Do you think they know it makes us want to scream? I think their training methods must take a cue from brain-washing procedures. I can hear the instructor: Netflix is always right. Netflix is never wrong. Reason is irrelevant. Evidence doesn't matter. Only Netflix has the correct answer. Netflix cares about its customers. Netflix is always right.
One supervisor I spoke to gave me the 30-days-notice-for-movies BS. This isn't just a misunderstanding on their part; it comes directly from Netflix. Check out their FAQ about expiring shows: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/41298?catId=en%2F133
I explained to her that this simply wasn't so, and gave her titles she could check on her own account to see that there was only a week's notice provided. I pointed out that the FAQ was wrong. She said she would send something to the appropriate dept. about this. That was at least a month ago. The FAQ has not been corrected.
Oh, btw, I have a Sony Smart TV, and the availability notice appears at the beginning of the episode, in the same location (upper left corner). I don't know about the "skip intro" thing; I don't remember seeing it, but maybe.
Carol, you are so right on their customer service. Screaming might be an appropriate response. Well, not really, but it did cross my mind. If you've ever been to a customer service class, it is a form of brain washing with canned responses. This guy was new, and it sounded more canned than an experienced rep. Anyway, when the “talking to the dog” image flashed in my mind, I knew it was time to get off the phone. Ugh. When Netflix rolls over, there will be a sense of justice. Unfortunately.
DeleteI wonder if they are starting to cycle through their CS reps? That wouldn't be a good sign if they are getting frustrated with all the deflection and quiting. That probably doesn't come easy to normal people.
I'm on an apparently old Vizio Smart TV. The network card has died as well as all three HDMI ports. The Amazon Prime app hasn't been updated in years and doesn't have CC text or watchlists.
I'll have to watch for the notice now that I know where to look, but like I mentioned, I typically go from episode to episode stopping where commercial breaks normally go. Resuming an episode probably bypasses the notice and then I'm on my second episode of the evening, so, as a feature, they suppress that notice. Notifying subscribers of expirations is not rocket science, so the only conclusion is that Netflix withholds this information intentionally. These are management decisions that speak directly to their attitude about subscribers.
Also, I decided to waste some keystrokes and send them some comments on the FAQ expiring shows page you posted. I'm sure their programming wizardry probably just sends those to the bit bucket.
DeleteSo can anyone confirm this notice shows up on the series "Legends" that is set to expire 11/30/2017? Last day 11/29.
Delete***********
Rules are:
You will also see an expiring content notification during the first few seconds of playback on most devices.
This notification is only for TV show seasons (or entire series) expiring in the next 30 days.
This notification will only show once per day.
*********
I just started a new episode, glued my eyes open and never saw a notice.
DeleteHi Lee K - I just checked both seasons of Legends (using 2 different profiles), and they both have the notice. Have you EVER seen the notice that appears when you play an episode (of any expiring show)? Perhaps your Smart TV doesn't have that feature, or it no longer works? Or, if the notice is sometimes there, sometimes not, could that feature be defective? If that is the case, you are always welcome to ask about the show you are watching, as you did here.
CanandaiguaNY or anyone: Do you have any insight into this? Lee K's description of his TV is:
"I'm on an apparently old Vizio Smart TV. The network card has died as well as all three HDMI ports. The Amazon Prime app hasn't been updated in years and doesn't have CC text or watchlists."
I was given a gift membership to Netflix in 2008, and was glad to have access to discs of all the old movies I wanted to see. I'd also put some new films on my queue, but they had long waiting lists. Not a problem for me, as I had a queue of 500 titles and I'd put the ones with a long wait on top of the queue and watch old films until my turn on the waiting list came. However, I did know quite a few people who complained, and cancelled NF, because they only wanted to see new films, and the wait was too long for them.
DeleteWhen streaming came along I joined up to watch films, allowing me to delete films from my DVD queue faster. I've binged watched a few TV series, but I want NF for film. However, NF is becoming more and more a TV service, and most of its customers seem interested in TV than in old, or even newly released, films. This blog, too, seems over the last few months to be posting more comments about series than about films. All this is of little interest to me.
Recently I noticed that the film that has been on my saved DVD queue the longest (since 2008!), "Madeleine" a 1950 David Lean picture, has been uploaded to YouTube. Since NF is unlikely to ever get this disc, I turned on my smart Vizio to find the YouTube app and watch the film. No YouTube app. It had been there, but it was now gone. Checking on the web, I found that YouTube updated its app so that it was incompatible with older smart TVs, and they decided to just delete the app from those TVs. Their recommendation was to go buy a Roku or other add-on device and then access YouTube through the app on that device. I did so, and now I have YouTube on my Vizio, but only through Roku.
I also now have two NF apps (Vizio and Roku). I can access NF either way, but they work differently. Most important for me is that the Vizio app still has star ratings, while Roku is all thumbs. The Vizio app has also been working sluggishly for some time because, I expect, it is having trouble with the updated version of the NF stream. The Roku app works just fine. So, I often watch a NF film on Roku but, then, go to the Vizio app to rate the film before I delete it from MyList. I expect that soon the Vizio NF app will become unworkable and will be deleted from this, and other, old-version smart TVs, just as happened with the YouTube app. I'll be left with only the Roku app.
LeeK may have an even older Vizio smart TV, as his has been experiencing more problems than mine.
I didn't have Legends (2014) on MyList but, on request, I put it on to check expiration dates. I found on my:
Delete1. Vizio smart TV app, no expiration notice on MyList and no upper left notice on playing the first episode.
2 Vizio Roku app, same result.
3. iPad app, there is an expiration notice on the opening page and the notice appears in the upper left on playing the first episode, but not if I switch to another episode.
4. iPad, NF website using Safari, no expiration notice anywhere.
5. desktop Mac, NF website using FireFox, expiration notice appears on MyList, but there is no notice on the upper left when I play the first episode.
DeleteThanks, CanandaiguaNY. Did you use a different Netflix profile each time you checked? Because once you have started any episode of a show that is expiring in full, you won't see the notice again until the next day, even if you are using different devices.
you don't really want to see an old film uploaded to youtube anyway. they're sped up, stretched, cropped, heavily compressed, and often from older rather than restored prints. check archive.org to see if someone uploaded it there, especially if you won't have access to youtube through an app on your tv.
DeleteCarol, you're right. I only had one profile; since I do little streaming of expiring TV shows, I did not think I needed more. I just added more profiles and checked Legends again. I got the upper left expiration notice on both the Vizio and the Vizio Roku apps (##1 and 2 above), but no notice on MyList on either. So only the iPad website (#4) gives no notice of expiration.
DeleteWow, a lot to catch up with. Vizio SmartTV only: I've never seen a notice on screen when watching a title scheduled to expire. Sometimes there is a notice on the "title page?" where you select to play, remove, rate and audio options, but never once the program starts. This is what irritated me so much with Salem season 1, which my girlfriend wanted to watch. There was no notice, at all, from Netflix it was expiring.
DeleteYoutube app was removed from both of my sets.
Unfortunately, with all HDMI ports on my main SmartTv no longer functional, options like Roku, firestick or even my laptop cannot be used. Looks like I'll be forced to upgrade.
Limited backward compatibility is forced obsolescence on our SmartTvs just like operating systems on our computers. Doesn't make me want to spend a lot of money knowing it will have a short life cycle.
DeleteCanandaiguaNY: thanks, that clarifies things. The reason you are not seeing the MyList notice is because on the apps MyList, you get 2 weeks notice for everything, series included. The notice for Legends should show up beginning 11/16. You have to go to the Netflix website MyList to see the notice a month in advance (except apparently, not on an ipad). Thanks again for going to the trouble of helping us nail down this mystery.
Lee K: sounds like we've gotten to the bottom of your "no notice" woes. I'm really sorry about Salem. I think Season 1 is on Hulu, and they do have a free trial.
CanandaiguaNY, I think most of the comments have been about TV shows instead of movies simply because TV shows take longer to watch than movies, so the issues with expiration dates cause more problems when you have 6 seasons of a show to watch (or 6 shows in general) in a month than 6 movies. I have noticed for the movies on my queue that January 1 is the worst expiration date. Also, I think we here on this blog are just more jaded to the comings and goings of movies on Netflix. I do see plenty of people outside of this blog complain about the lack of newer films on Netflix, though.
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ReplyDeleteThe titles on the press release that are indicated as expiring, but are not currently streaming, have all expired previously in the past year:
Get Rich or Die Tryin' just expired - last day was October 14
Hard Candy expired earlier this year - last day was February 28
All five of the Thomas & Friends shows were last day December 31,2016.
At first, I couldn’t understand how this big of an error could possibly happen - I mean, just how disorganized and out-of-it are they at Netflix??? Then, a mistake that I could see happening occurred to me: My theory is that these titles should have been on the “arriving in November” list, instead of on the “leaving” list. Still not cool (fake news?), but a lot less WTF than anything else I could imagine.
Plausible theory. That release gets copied and pasted ALL OVER the internet, you'd think they'd double check it before sending it out.
DeleteOf course the next logical step is to see if any titles listed as "coming to Netflix" are also in the wrong section and are actually leaving. I'll try to check that tonight.
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DeleteOh, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for volunteering to check - I hope that doesn't take too much of your time; please don't feel obligated. We can always catch titles on allflicks.net or uNoGS.com.
It didn't take me THAT long to go through it, but I didn't hit pay dirt till the very end. That Spanish series is the only one that is definitely already available, and thus is definitely on the wrong list. The first two both have titles that are duplicated by another movie on IMDb, so there's no way to tell if a duplicate title isn't being added. Do with this info what you will!
Delete11/4
The Veil (2016)
11/5
The Dinner (2014)
11/28
Guerra De Idolos - Season 1 (2017)
LOL I wasn't thinking. Obviously My List notices will appear in only a few days for all three if they're leaving. I've queued them up.
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DeleteI looked up The Veil and The Dinner on the smart TV app that currently has expiration notices through last day November 7. Neither movie has a notice. The notice for Guerra De Idolos would go up on November 30 on the Netflix site. Of course, with all the mistakes on this month's press release, those dates could be wrong, too. Thanks for keeping an eye on these titles, will g, and for checking all that were on the "arriving" list. Big gold star!!
So none of those three titles are showing expiration notices in My List. We'll know if it's the duplicate title situation for the first two when those dates roll around (actually a day later than the one I listed) but GOD KNOWS what's going on with the third. All three could have just been put in the press release by complete mistake, and are neither coming or leaving.
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DeleteThanks, will g. I'm pretty sure Netflix's rapid growth has left them pitifully understaffed. Perhaps they've taken to having chimps help with assembling the press release info? That's my second best theory. :- )
DeleteI love it when a theory comes together! All the shows that were on the press release as "leaving" November 1, but were, in fact, not streaming have now been added (returned) to Netflix: Get Rich or Die Tryin', Hard Candy, and the five Thomas & Friends Christmas shows. Fool us you can't, Netflix.
About the other press release errors - still scratching my head on those.
You beat me to the punch, Carol. Congrats on your theory being correct.
DeleteThe Dinner (coming 11/5) is, I think, an American version of the Spanish film of the same name currently streaming on Netflix. According to IMDb, there are three films with the same name, each based on the same novel. If in fact this is the American version, the novelist walked out of the theatrical premiere about 10 minutes in, complaining that the film company had ruined his novel.
DeleteI can’t believe there are two series named Guerra de Idolas. Has to be a mistake.
DeleteWell, it's Nov. 5, and there is no second "The Veil" added to Netflix (as listed in the press release). The one that was already here has not expired. Boo, hiss, Netflix:
To Netflix PR I say Boooo
Last month’s press release blew
What’s to come, what’s to go
You clearly didn’t know
This month can you please catch a clue??!!
LOL Carol! But you must have just checked too early, the second "The Veil" WAS added today, it's there now. That means we'll probably see the second "The Dinner" added tomorrow. That doesn't absolve them from their other horrible mistakes, so the sentiment of your limerick is still valid.
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DeleteWell, whaddayaknow? This actually makes me feel better. I need my world to make sense (it's an uphill battle), so I'm glad the press release wasn't as nutso as we thought. I won't jump the gun for "The Dinner." I appreciate you following up, will g.
That leaves the other two titles in question. "Reggie Yates Outside Man" is, I think, in the same category as the Nov. 1 titles. There is no notice on the actual episodes for Volume 1, so I'm guessing the Volume 2 listing should have gone on the "arriving" list instead of the "leaving" list.
And then there's Guerra de Idolos, on the press release as arriving 11/28. When last we checked the one and only season of this show was already streaming. But guess what? Now it's not! Will it come back on 11/28? I'm guessing it will, and that it was either added too soon (although couldn't find it on instantwatcher), and taken down without notice, or maybe should have expired earlier, but wasn't taken off. Either way, incompetence was at work. "We don't care, we don't have to - we're Netflix."
Disney announced on 11/1 that it is not allowing Marvel to license any more characters to non-Disney owned companies. So no more “new” Marvel series on Netflix although I assume current series (and The Punisher) can have new seasons.
ReplyDeleteNotflix already took off most of the family frendly Marvel animated shows so no surprise. But it is still okay to keep the MA rated filth from Marvel.
DeleteThe Zen of Bennett (2012), expiring on 11/11, is a Netflix Original. Does anyone know why it's expiring? Is this a first for a NFO?
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DeleteYes, I noticed that, too, and also wondered about it. I have always kind of wondered if all Netflix originals would stream forever, or if, once they had been on awhile would be on a rotating schedule.
the director's cut of iron sky, which expired in 2015, was a netflix exclusive but not a netflix original. as far as i know, this would be the first. without checking, my guess is that it was licensed, and if it was added to netflix in 2012 maybe we can start to see netflix originals that aren't owned by netflix start expiring after 5 years? that will be pretty easy to see because they started building up their originals with these documentary films.
Deletei'm curious about what happens to these films and series next. some originals are already sold elsewhere. do they simply cease being netflix originals, that being a limited time banner? some of these films i can see dropping into total obscurity without netflix streaming because whatever buzz they had in festival season, in the weeks leading up to arriving on netflix, and its short period of promotion on there (24 hours?) will be long gone. many probably never secured physical distribution if that were even a possibility, netflix having exited that business with red envelope until just recently under its own name with stranger things season 1, exclusive to one store.
Then those shows should not have that annoying baboom intro. Many Canadian shows have the NF baboom intro and they are not real NF originals as they air in Canada on CBC, YTV etc.
DeleteI just watched The Zen, and saw that the copyright is held by The Tony Bennett Familly Trust. A guess is that Netflix produced the documentary for TTBFT (making it an "Original") and got a five year right to exclusive showing. The five years expire on 11/11, and NF must have decided that it was not worth its while to buy an extension. Of course NF knows just how many people are still streaming the show. So now TTBFT can offer the show to any other streaming, cable, syndicating or over-the-air service, for whatever is the best price available. Or it can sell DVDs. Travis is right that some shows in this situation may drop into total obscurity. But not this one. At worst it'll pop up on A&E or on a PBS station during one of the semimonthly fund drives (OK, they only seem to be semimonthly).
DeleteThen NF should not have there annoying baboom intro then. People think anything with the baboom intro is safe. If NF starts dropping "originals" because they are not true originals they subscribers will lose more trust in company. I can predict in 2020 NF will be sold by "Amazon", "Apple", "Google" etc.
DeleteSo do you guys check the Netflix originals when you're checking for expirations? I've been skipping over the ones that have the Netflix banner across them (like Tallulah, ARQ, etc) but now I'm wondering if I should be checking them too.
DeleteAnd what about TV shows? Is there any point in checking the TV shows that have more than one season?
DeleteHi PunkinheadDelux, thank you so much for the great job you do getting the two-week notice for expiring titles - I know that takes some time. For now, I don't think it's worth it to check the NF originals - movies or series. If we see more of them start to expire, we might rethink that, but for now, I'm skipping over them, too. For movies and whole series, we've always got the fail-safe of uNoGS and allflicks.
For multi-season series, NF original or not, what makes sense to me is to check seasons for the ones you really care about, maybe once a week. I know from experience that this can get really tedious, so I wouldn't expect anyone to check this way unless they were doing it for themselves. Then it would be great if they shared any expiring seasons they found. Netflix's method for this is one of the least customer-friendly things they do. Who knows how many seasons have disappeared behind our backs, so to speak. Even when they put these in the press release, it's often too late for it to be practical to watch, e.g., La Viuda Negra at the end of this month.
I've been skipping the originals as well, but maybe I should rethink that, since Anonymous reported Nick Offerman: American Ham, one of the stand-up specials for Netflix, is expiring. I will be checking ALL of my non-multi-episode TV titles for expiration dates of 12/15 later tonight.
DeleteThe NF originals that got cancelled after one season thank goodness I wonder if they will expire. Really one season ending with a cliffhanger I don't see many watching them. What about the scandal with the star of House of cards will they remove that because of it?
ReplyDeleteHowever if NF can remove there own originals then nothing is safe or worth watching.
i can't see them removing an original series they canceled after 1 season just for that reason. if they own it, meaning were the sole or primary studio, it will probably be available forever, provided some outrageous scandal doesn't happen to cause them to pull the content. if they don't own it, meaning they licensed it or were only a minority partner, i could see it going on the chopping block eventually, maybe after 5 years judging by zen of bennett.
Deletehouse of cards, which they do not own outright, i think would have been pulled by now if they ever dared to do that. meanwhile, amazon prime added the cosby show years after the scandal broke with bill cosby, so just because a celebrity becomes toxic doesn't mean their work all disappears. netflix is aware there are physical copies of house of cards and that the show can be easily and legally rented through other sources like amazon video or cable on demand so it's not like they could bury the series just by removing it from their streaming library. based on decisions with cosby, louis c.k., and kevin spacey, it seems netflix's go-to move is to cancel upcoming projects, not remove the existing ones right away.
i should have said "easily and legally sold" instead of rented. in my experience, tv shows can't be easily digitally rented in general.
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ReplyDeleteSolved Mysteries: Reggie Yates Outside Man: Volume 2
This title was on last month's press release as expiring in the middle of November, never mind that only volume 1 was streaming. The latest press release shows it as coming in the middle of December. Hey, they were only a month off and on the wrong list - why bother with pesky fact-checking of the press release before it goes out? Pshaw!
why indeed when some of the most trafficked web sites will publish these lists unchecked for millions to see...
DeleteWhy because they are written by young bloggers who only care about originals. Really. I only trust cordcuttersnews.com and what is recommended here.
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DeleteSolved Mysteries II: Guerra De Idolos
After a brief disappearing act earlier this month, it's back streaming on Netflix, making an honest listing of its appearance on the October press release. Thank goodness we're all done with that mess now.
the "Details" tab now lists writers.
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DeleteThanks Travis, this is good to know.
ReplyDeleteFor all of you who contribute titles, your efforts are noticed and appreciated:
https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/comments/7hlppj/has_netflix_gotten_better_with_putting_out_an/
To think this site started because a former Netflix subscriber who had a site that showed what was new on Netflix was taking away more then adding so he stopped.
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ReplyDeleteLast night I went to check on allflicks - allflicks.net/leaving-netflix/ - and was forwarded to a site called Reelgood: https://reelgood.com/leaving/netflix?utm_medium=301&utm_source=allflicks
Does anyone know anything about this site? Their Leaving Netflix Soon page promises, "This is the full list of movies and tv shows that will be leaving Netflix in the next few weeks." It has only a few titles, all of them series, and most of them wrong. It shows Futurama leaving this week; I checked, and it still shows as last day 1/29. Also, it has New Girl and Sons of Anarchy leaving this week. I checked all seasons of both shows, and there are no notices.
The site would be a great resource if it had accurate info, e.g., it claims to tell what's leaving Hulu - something a lot of people have asked about. If anyone has any insight or information, please let us know.
The thing is Hulu does not lose much except mainly for the Epix movies which go away on the main channel and even Amazon Prime which also has the Epix movies.
Deletehttps://petapixel.com/2017/11/27/netflix-stole-vhs-cassette-photos-stranger-things-boxed-set/
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ReplyDeleteTHERE IS NOW A FRESH DISCUSSIONS & IDEAS PAGE. PLEASE USE THAT PAGE GOING FORWARD. THE LINK IS IN THE SIDEBAR AND FOOTER. THE LINK TO THIS (OCT-DEC) PAGE IS NOW UNDER THE DISCUSSIONS ARCHIVE SECTION IN THE SIDEBAR.