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Discussion: The Refreshment Stand



Please note: This page was originally the list of all movies that expired on June 1. That list is now in the May 2016 archive. I wanted to use this page as a place where we can discuss anything related to the expiration of those titles, because I don't think Netflix handled it honorably. Also, many of the original comments people left here are apropos. 

June 6, 2016 (with updates on June 8)
It's always hard to see a lot of really good movies pulling out of the Netflix station, but I realize that's the nature of their business. If I want a steady influx of different movies, room has to be made. It does seem like the balance of highly watchable content to content of the turkey variety is steadily tipping in the wrong direction, but nobody is forcing me to keep my subscription. 

This isn't about bemoaning loss of content. It's about resentment of being flimflammed with distortions of the truth, in the hope of keeping me - and all others - ignorant and pacified. Maybe Netflix doesn't want to deal with complaints, criticism, or cancellations due to loss of content. If true, then they're in denial about that also being part of the nature of their business. Or, maybe they want to be seen only from their good side, in the best light, like a vain actor. Actors also pretend for a living. 

The Netflix tactics of secrecy and "spin" feel controlling, at best, underhanded, at worst. The stress of the June 1 Netflix movie jettison is fading, but Netflix's withholding all notice of the impending exodus - to the point of removing streaming expiration dates from the dvd site - still sticks in my craw.

Another thing that bothers me is so-called news articles that accept Netflix's word as sufficient, and consequently, don't really tell me anything useful. On June 1, Will G. sent a copy of a Deadline article that appears to be giving the good news that all is well with the Miramax contract: "Netflix 'Refreshes' Deal with Miramax for Library Titles." The article doesn't shed much light on what happened, or will happen in the future, as far as Miramax titles streaming. (New note: "Miramax titles" refers to those titles in the Miramax catalog, whether or not they were actually produced by the Miramax company originally.)

Some of the "facts" in the article don't agree with what we know to be true. I don't think the reporter made anything up, but I do think she took Netflix at its word. If she was talking to a press intermediary, they might not have known the details of the Miramax deal to tell her. The whole business of the "refresh" sounds like someone's brilliant idea to be ambiguous while sounding like everything is just fine.

The following chart gives a clearer idea of the numbers involved. I was always focused on the total of titles, rather than on what was Miramax, and what wasn't. Now that I've had some time to look more closely, here's what I've found.

Note: This chart was updated on June 8, to reflect most recent research regarding Miramax titles, and to include some new information. Note that "All Movies" includes the Miramax titles.


I included Rotten Tomato reviews and Oscar nominees so you can see that the majority of the best movies we lost were from Miramax. The Best Foreign Film category got massacred. Thirteen of the twenty titles in that category are gone, now. The only Oscar nominee to get added from Miramax is Traffic. The only other Miramax titles to be added are An Unfinished Life and Last Night. (If anyone is interested in lists of Miramax titles - what expired and/or what remains - let me know.)

Updated: With more than 400 Miramax titles leaving, only 74 staying, and only 3 more added, I don't know how NF can justify calling it a "refresh." It looks like a deep-sixing to me. My initial research did not find all the titles that were leaving or staying. I decided to go through the entire Miramax catalog, movie-by-movie, and compare those to a) our list of everything that expired on June 1, and b) the list of everything currently streaming on Netflix, using the MaFt site, New on Netflix USA. The results of that project are now on the above chart.

Following is the article that Will G. sent. I went through it trying to figure out what the point of it was. The author might be, "a very well-respected, experienced reporter," as Will points out in a subsequent comment, but I doubt this is an example of her best work. It was great work of Will to find and send it to us, though - thanks, Will! My comments are in blue (some have been updated).


Netflix ‘Refreshes’ Deal With Miramax For Library Titles
by Anita Busch
June 1, 2016 12:07pm

EXCLUSIVE:  Exclusive obliquity? Netflix has renewed its deal with Miramax to keep some of its 700-plus title library within their streaming service. Renewed is her word, not Netflix’s. Wouldn’t renewed mean the titles would remain? I think it’s more likely that they renegotiated the deal for a lot fewer titles at substantially less cost, and are calling it a “refresh.” “Refresh - yeah, that’s the ticket.” Netflix said that some titles are staying put and others falling out but they would not release the number of titles they are keeping. Or tossing. No problem, Netflix. We’ll just leave it at that; no further probing or researching. Can’t be bothered tracking down the truth of red flags. Although Netflix’s corporate strategy is heavily on developing original content, the library made up roughly 10% of the streaming service’s total content right now. Updated: Not sure what the point of that sentence is. 10% is about right for before June 1 ("made up," past tense). "Right now," after the big unloading, Miramax titles make up only slightly more than 1% of total content (around 5000 titles, including series). Is that last sentence a justification for the unloading? It almost sounds like she's saying that even though they're into original content, they still took on a substantial amount of available movies (because they're saintly?). Except that the Miramax deal was made before Netflix decided to go whole hog on original content. Even if original content was already in the works, they had to know it would be several years before there would be much of it, so they knew they would need available content in the meantime. I would have liked a follow-up sentence, not the equally clueless next one. No terms of the deal have been disclosed, but the deal is surprising given that Netflix chief Ted Sarandos underscored to Deadline earlier this month about the importance of original content. He noted, “What I’m trying to do is take the benefits and the beautiful byproduct of the internet, which is all about consumer choice, and apply it to movies where no one else has.” In talking about content deals, he only included Disney and The Weinstein Co. The deal, especially since it’s shrouded in secrecy, ISN’T surprising when you consider that taking away ALL the beloved titles at once gives customers an itchy “cancel subscription” finger. Also not surprising is that they got rid of more than 4/5ths of the Miramax content.

The Miramax library pact with Netflix was set to expire yesterday, May 31. And a big part of it did. Now, let’s avert attention away from the subject of this article, and tout everything good we can think of to make Netflix sound wonderful. The Miramax library “refresh” comes only months before the streaming service’s deal with Disney kicks in and as it’s multi-year pact with The Weinstein Company gets underway. This September, Netflix will have the exclusive rights for streaming/pay TV of the latest live-action and animated films from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm for all films released this year. That means The Jungle Book, Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and Alice Through the Looking Glass as well as Finding Dory, Doctor Strange and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The deal also includes direct-to-video titles and all will be made available for Netflix members to watch instantly in the pay TV window on multiple platforms, including television, tablets, computers and mobile phones.

In addition, the two giants pacted on a multi-year catalog deal for Disney classics like Dumbo, Pocahontas and Alice in Wonderland. New: These have all been, and gone. Is this saying they're coming back, or is it just really old news?

The Weinstein Co. deal includes such titles as Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Hateful Eight and Philomena to name a few.


With the Miramax library, Netflix keeps hold of such titles as Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, No Country for Old Men and The English Patient as well as Life is Beautiful, Amelie, The Crying Game, Strictly Ballroom, My Left Foot and Cinema Paradiso (again, to name only a few correctly).

That paragraph makes it sound like all of those titles are streaming now. As Larry G. points out in his comment, 5 are not. She got (or was given) almost half wrong. Three titles were on the wrong side of the refresh. None of her titles that are streaming are new. I need to look up “refresh” in the dictionary. Maybe it has some different meaning I’m not aware of, like how “humbug” isn’t just language that is false or meant to deceive people, but also a hard peppermint candy.

Miramax has gone through various incarnations in ownership but most recently was bought by Qatar-based media and entertainment company beIN Media Group. The company was originally launched in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein which now helm The Weinstein Company.

This month, Netflix will release Jurassic Park: The Lost World, this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight; in July it drops The Big Short and in August it will premiere another critical favorite: The Little Prince along with The Fast & The Furious, The Wedding Planner and St. Vincent. More bragging. None of these titles are Miramax.

In response to inquiries from Deadline, Netflix said, “We refreshed our agreement with Miramax … summer is a time when we refresh a large part of our film catalogue and this year is no exception.” And Deadline couldn’t wait to publish that quote for all to read, and wonder, “Just what the hell does that mean?”


Netflix might be trying to sell us its "Refreshment" stand, but I'm not buyin' it. The candy is all humbug, and the soda is flat. The cash register works pretty good, though.

Sources
Brian Clarkson/Netflix Queue Busters
Miramax Catalogue
Deadline
instantwatcher.com
unofficial Netflix online Global Search (uNoGS)
New on Netflix USA
CNET
Our list of May 31 movies
Rotten Tomatoes
Our page of Oscar winners and nominees on Netflix
(regularly updated by Pox Voldius)
Netflix

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Following are the original responses to the article Will G. sent. Sneaky of me to figure out a way to insert my comment first, eh?  ;- )


LarryG    June 1, 2016 at 4:22 PM
    
This is nothing new.
    
Quote: Netflix said that some titles are staying put and others falling out but they would not release the number of titles they are keeping.
    
Readers of this blog know the numbers.
Carol has found 33 titles remaining and 501 titles are gone.
    
The Deadline reporter did not even bother to check the veracity of their own reporting.
    
No Country for Old Men is unavailable to stream. DVD only.
Life is Beautiful is unavailable to stream. DVD only.
The Crying Game is unavailable entirely on Netflix.
Strictly Ballroom is unavailable to stream. DVD only.
My Left Foot is unavailable to stream. DVD only.
    
Sorry, but this is no news.
    
Carol, thanks for all your efforts. Get a good rest. You deserve it.


will g    June 1, 2016 at 5:13 PM
    
Anita Busch is a very well-respected, experienced reporter. I don't think she pulled those titles out of a hat. If they aren't available to stream right now, it may be because the renewal deal just happened and they haven't been put back on yet. Yes we already knew 28 Mirimax titles were renewed, but I THINK this goes beyond that. If there were still over 500 Mirimax titles being removed, I doubt she would have published this article.


will g    June 1, 2016 at 5:19 PM
    
Sorry I should have said over 400 Mirimax titles. 500 was the total of all expiring titles.


The Angry Internet    June 2, 2016 at 7:46 PM
    
The suspicious phrase here is "Netflix said that some titles are staying put and others falling out but they would not release the number of titles they are keeping." That very strongly implies that whatever Miramax titles were renewed are the ones that didn't expire yesterday, which (as far as we can tell) amount to a whopping 33 movies. Netflix's refusal to give even a vague ballpark figure for how many movies are part of the new deal gives me little confidence we will see an imminent mass renewal.


The Angry Internet    June 2, 2016 at 7:53 PM
    
I'll also add that No Country for Old Men is still part of the Starz catalog (and left Netflix four years ago as part of that catalog) and would not be available to Netflix as part of any renewal of the Miramax deal.


Brian Clarkson    June 1, 2016 at 7:51 PM
    
And you can add Decider to that list of those reporting a Miramax renewal. It's possible that we may be getting more of those titles back than those we found renewed. But I imagine that it's not an overnight process.


will g    June 1, 2016 at 8:13 PM
    
That Decider post is just repeating and linking to the Deadline article, as is one other site. Busch remains the one source for this for now.


Brian Clarkson    June 2, 2016 at 5:01 AM
    
Deadline's broken a number of stories when it comes to new series/movies heading to Netflix (see the upcoming Fundamentals of Caring to think of one example) so I believe I can trust them when it comes with renewing contracts with a film studio.


Wellesley72    June 2, 2016 at 12:37 PM
    
Talk about fuzzy reporting. The Miramax deal has been renewed, but people seem to be all over the place in stating "all" of the content will stay at Netflix, "some" of the content will stay, and "the content will contain old and new titles". Since Miramax doesn't make movies any more but is just a catalogue of movies owned by a private investor, the last statement is particularly bizarre unless there are some movies not previously licensed to Netflix that will be licensed in this "renewal", which was apparently signed on May 31 but apparently takes effect sometime in the (unspecified) future. This is beginning to sound like the Disney deal which "took effect" on January 1 except that Netflix has to wait nine months or more to stream the new Disney content. Are the lunatics running the asylum?

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46 comments:

  1. About 24% of my NF queue is on this list. :(

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    1. Correction, it's now closer to 27% of my queue -- even after knocking off 3 of them today!

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  2. Carol you meant to say "As of Monday morning (5/9)." It is hard to keep track of what day it is during this mess. What a huge pain in the ass it is for you to have to repeatedly plow through the list to see if the expiration date is still showing, and we are all very grateful for your hard work. Is it really possible that they're negotiating to renew some titles and not others? It's all such a mystery at this point.

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    1. Oh dear, thanks for catching that, will g, and even more thanks for understanding. I'm sorry to say I've caught several similar mistakes - on the Home page, in the May 31 notes, I put March instead of May, and it was at least a day before I noticed. Glad I've got you guys to back me up, so nothing too awful slips through.

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  3. We'll know for sure when those with the devices that give 14-day notices can report back, but my suspicion is that the titles you have listed as "No Longer Expiring" were just the first wave in the disappearing DVD notices, which were all gone a couple of days later. I still find it somewhat hard to believe that they've made a deal for some Mirimax titles to stick around when the rest of the catalog is leaving Netflix. But we shall see.

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  4. I can confirm that The Aviator is not listed as expiring on my XBox app, whereas other movies on my queue (The Importance of Being Earnest, Chocolat, Darkman, The Yards, Dear Frankie) are listed as expiring. I also checked Trainspotting (not on my queue, but on the possibly renewed list), and that does not show an expiration date, either. That makes me think that the other titles which were marked as possibly renewed were actually renewed. However, this is Netflix, and they have removed titles without notice before, so who knows with them. I'm a little hesitant to call them and reveal other devices that give more than the notice they deem appropriate in the fear that they will remove the dates from those, too, so perhaps in a week, when the 7-days warning appears on their website, we should all bombard them with calls and complain that 7 days is not enough warning.

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    1. Thanks, Nica. It sounds like it is at least likely that our lists are accurate as they stand. I like your bombarding idea - seriously. Netflix is always saying they respond to their customers's feedback. Let's lay low for now, and start planning a campaign to launch May 25 (the first day notices will show on Netflix). I'll put up a dedicated Discussion page later today.

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    2. For anyone interested in making a group effort to let Netflix know how unhappy we are with their inadequate lead time for expiring movies, there is a discussion page, now. Link is in the sidebar: More Notice for Expiring Movies, under Ongoing Discussions.

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  5. And it looks like Exstreamist has gotten into the fray so to speak.

    Source: http://exstreamist.com/the-netflix-library-is-about-to-decrease-over-10-with-600-titles-disappearing-june-1st/

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  6. Meg here ... do we have a final tally yet, as in the grand number? Or is it someplace else and I need to be pointed in the right direction? Or, perhaps, we'll know tomorrow when supposedly we have moved on to 6/2 expiration notices (hah) from NF!

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    1. Hi Meg, I don't have the exact number of titles, but it should be right around 500. I'll post the grand total tomorrow morning, at the beginning of this page.

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  7. Now that we have 520 movies expiring on June 1, it's a good time to look at the blog on the Netflix Media Center where it states that summer is a great time for movies. It is also a time when Netflix "refreshes" it's movie catalogue, but this time they are going to do away with "non-exclusive" titles and to show some great films like Spotlight, The Big Short and The Little Prince, indies from Sundance like Tallulah and classic frills unto shown before on Netflix like Lethal Weaon 1-4, the first three Jurassic Park films, and the Back to the Future trilogy. In addition, Netflix touted the Disney deal which it said would begin in September. fact, the wording is close to the blog Netflix posted when the Epix catalogue expired, except it took forever for Minions and Hotel Transylvania 2 to get to Netflix.

    Here are my problems: First, you can't replace 500 movies with a couple of dozen features and say this is a normal "refresh" of your catalogue. So why not just say we decided to end our arrangement with Miramax because [insert good reason here]. Second, what is non-exclusive content? At various times I have seen some of these films on Amazon Prime, HBO, Showtime and Starz. I have not seen most of these movies on basic cable or, if they have been on basic cable, the commercial breaks have killed the movie for me. It's only non-exclusive content if I can watch it somewhere else. Netflix seems to assume that we have subscribe to every streaming service around, which is clearly not the case for me. (I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Acorn TV, which is more than enough to keep my eyeballs busy.)

    And what about the "exclusive" content. Other than Beasts of No Nation, the Adam Sandler and Ricky Gervais films were busts. Is the Lethal Weaon series really "exclusive" (maybe for a short period of time, but they have aired numerous times before). And Spotlight, The Big Short and the Disney films have taken around 9 months to get to us. So what makes these arrangements different from the Epix deal or the exclusive output deals that Amazon has with A24, Broad Green Pictures or Bleeker Street Films, where the time between theatrical release and streaming is 3 to 6 months.

    I'll take Netflix for now for their TV shows. But with the exception of some great documentaries and maybe one or two new fils a month, their movie catalogue is a joke. Are they too stupid to see this, or do they think we are too stupid to notice?

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    1. Great summary of the state of the NF catalog, Wellesley72. You make some excellent points. I don't keep up with what's happening there as well as you do, so all I have to go by is what I've observed since I've been a subscriber.

      My sense is that it's all about business. They had one good idea (streaming), and became very successful and a way-out-front leader because of it. Inevitably, others followed, and are now catching up. So NF is changing tactics, and I'm sure, believing that's also a great idea. We'll see, but it's not working for me.

      I'd be surprised if there was even one true cinephile among the decision makers. They might think they can do no wrong, that they can keep NF in first place, and themselves basked in glory and riches. Again, we'll see, but there's a lack of heart in their decision-making, and, imho, a lack of understanding of what people want and care about.

      Great movies and TV series become like old friends - comfortable, familiar, reassuring, something you can count on. Sweeping large numbers of them out the door, and bringing in a bunch of new "friends" to replace them is riskier than NF seems to understand. Is a NF subscription still a good deal? Probably, but increasingly less so. I'm definitely not feelin' it the way I used to.

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    2. Wellseley I agree with every word you say.

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  8. I called to complain, in a very polite way. The man who took my call was shocked! He checked with others in the call center, and they hadn't received notice of this either. He spent a lot of time calling the "higher-ups" and they told him that some company that owned most of these films had paid a cancellation fee and ended the contract. He couldn't tell me which company, for whatever reasons.
    My suggestion is to give Netflix a call, and complain about losing so many titles with so little notice. They're really nice at the call center, and I've gotten results quite a few times. They fixed the format, perhaps because of many callers like me with the same complaint, made the black less intense and put space between the rows. No good complaining to each other, give them a call. It may not help, but then again, maybe it will.
    I also requested putting numbers back so we at least know how many titles are on our list, even if they don't number them. (Forgive any errors, I just had surgery on my one eye, though I tell everyone I'm aiming to be a pirate)

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  9. Oh, and thank you so very much Carol, and all those who helped, for your outstanding and above the call of duty, to do all this fantastic work. You deserve a medal, or better yet, a trophy!

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    1. Thank you, Starchild. Your appreciation is reward enough. Everybody did really come through for this, and I'm glad we've all been able to see as many of our movies as possible because of it.

      Also, I copied your comment about talking to NF customer service to our page dedicated to lobbying for more notice of expiring movies (link is in the sidebar under Ongoing Discussions), since it's appropriate for both pages.

      Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery from your recent surgery.

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  10. quote:
    I called to complain, in a very polite way. The man who took my call was shocked! He checked with others in the call center, and they hadn't received notice of this either.
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    He probably does not even live in this country. I don't bother to call brain dead CS reading from a script anymore unless I really need to and when I do I hate when they think I don't know what I am talking about.

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  11. Carol you still have the comments from the old May 31 post here. Delete?

    Great job on this new post, I love your annotated Busch. Will have more to say later, but right off the bat I'm surprised to see your count of only 250 expiring Mirimax titles. Where did I get the idea it was 400? I THOUGHT I checked the total in the old post when I posted that comment, but maybe not.

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    1. Good God I just noticed that I always misspell MIRAMAX.

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    2. I'm not sure where previous numbers for Miramax came from. I didn't keep track of where all the movies came from. There were a lot of numbers flying around the Internet. Brian Clarkson has a breakdown on his website of Miramax/Dimension/Other. His totals don't match ours exactly, but close enough. There might be a little more than 250 Miramax - maybe 275-280, but I wanted to put numbers I could substantiate, and not guess. Without full disclosure from Netflix, it's really tough to ferret out what's what.

      As far as the comments that were made when the list was here, I wanted to use this page because it had them. There are some parts of comments that don't pertain to what we're talking about now, but every comment I left up has something in it that is still relevant, and supports our experience with the loss of titles in May. I did put a note just before Comments in the body of this page explaining the "old" comments being here.

      I'm glad you like my comments on the Busch article, will g. Thanks for telling me that.

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    3. Sorry I hadn't seen that last line where you explained the presence of the old comments.

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    4. No problem. I have moved that note to the top of the article, where it should have been in the first place. Thanks for helping me realize that.

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  12. Okay, a couple of observations:

    I couldn't find any reference online to "The Jungle Book" not being part of the Disney deal in the U.S., quite the opposite. It's mentioned prominently in most articles about the deal.

    Now about those Mirimax titles that Busch said were renewed but aren't streaming now, I still find it almost impossible to believe that she just threw out some titles at random. She must have been given those titles by Netflix, which means they will be back streaming SOMETIME. The timing on all this is of course left maddeningly obscure. There is that anomaly with "No Country for Old Men" belonging to Starz, as The Angry Internet points out, but it could very well be leaving Starz and coming to Netflix as part of the deal.

    Yes, Busch appears to have been something of a gullible stenographer in this article, which is disappointing, because as I said she does have a good reputation as a reporter. (She's something of a legend for having a dead fish placed on her car by Anthony Pellicano lol.) And I apologize for being somewhat dismissive of Larry G's comment that there was no news here. While I wouldn't go QUITE that far, there was much less news in the article than I at first thought when I posted it. Most of the Mirimax library is, and most likely will remain, gone from Netflix.

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    1. I just cannot let go of my habit of misspelling MIRAMAX.

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  14. I have stated this before, but I am so very torn with Netflix right now. I was looking to whittle down my streaming queue to a more manageable level even before this "refresh" due to personal reasons, but now I am looking to get the numbers down so I don't have to stress over expiration dates anymore, since they took that notice away. The recent "refresh" didn't make me happy (even if I didn't have too many on my queue leaving) because I worry that soon Netflix will not have much to offer me. However, every time I look through the new arrivals and recently added categories, I almost always notice something I would like to add, even if it's just one title. I have the DVD plan as well, which I have been neglecting, and I have noticed more and more that the top 100 DVD rentals only have anywhere between 5 and 10 titles streaming (and I believe two of them are "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black" so if you take them out, that's 3-8). Only 5-10% of the most popular titles on streaming! Where has my focus been? I thought with the Jurassic Parks coming to streaming, Jurassic World would make its way there, too, but no. The Disney deal finally kicking in is something I look forward to, but right now I'd have to say that my relationship with Netflix is permanently on "it's complicated."

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    1. Somehow I still have three pretty lengthy My List queues, even after all the purges. And they're almost all movies, not TV. I've been thinking about canceling for a long time, but until those queues are really emptied out I'm probably sticking around.

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    2. Yeah, I still have a pretty large queue, which is a mix of TV and movies. True story: One day at work, I calculated how long it would take me to watch all of the TV shows on my queue at 2 episodes per day; it worked out to be about 4 years. So, I will definitely still have things to watch so long as they hold onto those contracts (and my queue does include some Netflix originals). I am just trying to work my queue down to a more manageable level because within the past year or so, I've had at least 3 months where I've had my own personal "streamageddons" and am growing tired of them. Lately, my attitude has been to watch those TV shows and movies that are streaming-only, and if I can't squeeze in an expiring show or movie that is available on DVD, it will just have to go on the DVD queue. But even the amount of streaming-only titles is cumbersome, so if I have a lot of these expiring in a month, I am in trouble.

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    3. My list queue is empty. First years ago I did it with movies then TV series. I got tired of checking it everyday to see if something is going to expire and I only use to watch maybe less than 10% of what was on my list anyway. So now I just go into continue watching or just search for it as I do with movies. Most of the time however just browsing the recommendations I can find a new TV show or movie I might like.

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  15. Great rant Carol. I could have not done a better job then you had of course I would have ranted more on originals.

    Now you saying there so called Disney deal no Jungle Book movie in the US then what kind of crappy deal did Netflix waste there money on. The Disney movies could have stayed on Starz at least they got every Disney movie that came out.

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    1. Thanks, Tony, glad you liked it. I might have to eat my words about The Jungle Book - at least I hope I do. I can't remember where I saw it - some online magazine, I think, and I couldn't find anything with a search. I could be mistaken about it - maybe it was another title, or my memory is just wrong, or if it was true then, it might have changed. Having said that, while lots of articles, like the one above, include The Jungle Book in their touting, I haven't seen anything that actually gives a date for when it will be streaming. Let's keep our fingers crossed, but not hold our breath.

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    2. If not I will buy the movie on Amazon or Vudu no loss for me.

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  16. My apologies to everyone:

    I'm feeling pretty dunce-y today. I thought the numbers that I put in the chart on this page originally were accurate enough to publish, and then just polish when I had time to double check everything. After the double check, I realized I had jumped the gun. The chart has now been updated with the REAL correct numbers. As Homer Simpson would say, D'OH!

    Will g - we're back to the 400 number for Miramax titles expired. I'm sorry for taking everyone down a different road, when you had it right. Wish I knew where "400" came from. I didn't think anyone had inside info about that, but maybe someone was better at guessing than me. It doesn't really matter, now. I made some errors of understanding, as well as calculating, but further and more careful research helped me get the numbers correct. I hope.

    I learned a number of other things during this research project, and I'd like to clear up a few of the issues that have been brought up:

    No Country for Old Men is still showing in the Miramax catalog. Maybe it's leased to Starz, but still owned by Miramax? I'm certainly not counting on seeing it come back to Netflix, but thought this was worth noting.

    Also, although Miramax no longer MAKES movies, the catalog still gets new content. For example, Southside with You - the biopic about President Obama's first date with First Lady Michelle that is due in theaters on August 26 - will be included in the Miramax library. If Netflix manages to get that one for us, I'd have to agree, that would be "refreshing."

    Lastly, as I went through the NF streaming catalog on New on Netflix USA, I couldn't help but admit, there really are a lot of good movies/series available to us. Not as many as there used to be, not as many as we'd all like, and way too much dreck in the mix, but enough good to be worth 8 bucks a month, and even the 10 that it will soon be. So I'm sticking for now, but I really wish NF would be more transparent about the goings on there.

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    1. I'm pretty that you had calculated there were 400-some expiring Miramax titles and said so on the old May 31 page, and that's where I got it. At any rate, don't beat yourself up about it! No biggie, as you like to say! You did a beautiful job on the color-coded chart BTW.

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    2. Speaking of the chart, I'm also struck by the fact that 77 Miramax titles are currently streaming. That's a lot more than I thought there were, I thought it was somewhere around 30. MAYBE describing this as a "refresh" is entirely off-base if they're retaining that many.

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    3. That should say "ISN'T entirely off-base." Sorry.

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    4. AND my first comment should say "I'm pretty SURE..." Ugh.

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  17. I'm wondering if there might be an effort to rotate some of the expired titles as soon as July 1. Just like I'm hoping that the Disney titles we're losing in the tail end of the month might end up being replaced with other titles catalog style.

    Maybe it's a case of false hope. But if Netflix wants to justify that additional dollar per month, I think they'll have to go beyond the Jurassic Parks, Back to the Futures, and Lethal Weapons to bring American viewers some depth.

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  18. A bunch of Miramax titles were added to Amazon Prime on June 10. Some are still on Netflix, many are not, including two of the missing Busch titles "My Left Foot" and "The Crying Game."

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  19. I was hoping that we'd be seeing a larger stream of Mirimax/Dimension films at the beginning of the month. Instead, titles are starting to trickle in.

    Scary Movie and 40 Days and 40 Nights returned at the start of July. For August, it appears that Extract and Sliding Doors will return to the Big Red streamer. Not great numbers, but it's nudging ever so slightly in the right direction.

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    1. i'm still waiting to be refreshed. at that rate, it will be more than a year before my thirst is fully quenched.

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    2. a year and a half later and my expired titles never returned. that's not what i call refreshing...

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    3. I like people who know how to hold a grudge, Travis. I'm still p/o'd about the Miramax debacle, too. A low, low moment for Netflix, especially with the rush to get the advance "streaming until" dates off of the dvd site. I believe this is when Netflix lost whatever remained of its soul.

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  20. An article on Exstreamist headlines: CURRENT TITLES IN US NETFLIX LIBRARY: 5750, which is higher than the c.4000 given in the chart above. I'm not sure about this, but the difference might be their counting each year of a multi-year series as a separate title.

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    1. The 4000 number in the chart is just movies and single episode shows; it doesn't include series or mini-series. New on Netflix USA, instantwatcher, and uNoGS all put the current total number of titles at about 5250 (~4100 movies; ~1150 series, counting each series as one title, regardless of number of seasons). Obviously, the exact number of titles will change from day to day. Not sure what day exstreamist checked the number, or what source they used, but their number is in the ballpark.

      instantwatcher.com has lots of great stats - including total number of series' seasons (2517). I found the stats that indicate quality of titles to be a little discouraging.

      http://instantwatcher.com/search?sort=available_from+desc&view=synopsis&infinite=on

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