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eCounsel group

A boutique firm with unparalleled expertise in business and technology. We have good command of industrial ecology and legal practice, and have undertaken highly regarded cases. Because the small business scope, we pay more emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency, and choose clients with deliberation. The managing partner not only has extensive experiences in various legal issues more over than 20 years, but invests and manages several technology companies. In addition, he always checks each case rigorously. Clients’ business objectives are our primary focus. To achieve the same in the most cost-effective fashion trumps all seemingly sophisticated legal discussions.

Will a Free, Ad-Supported Model Work For Netflix?

2016 - 01 - 05

The main ideas of the following article suggest Netflix to adopt a free, ad-supported tier into their model. We think it makes no sense at all.

Netflix Should Create A Free Tier In 2016

此篇文章建議Netflix今年開始採取「廣告支持的免費模式」(a free, ad-supported tier),認為可以帶來收益、降低獲取使用者成本,並建立商業壁壘。

對這些建議,我們並不同意。

首先,作者並沒有想到Neflix若真要走廣告模式,憑其仰人鼻息的IT基礎建設和居高不下的內容取得成本,如何能在網路廣告強敵環伺下突圍而出?

上有 Amazon,下有 Google & YouTube;前者在 video metadata 之深度和完整度、又整合電商、倉儲物流、和 Prime 會員,後者原本就是廣告聯播網的大頭目,內容由使用者產生,半毛授權金都不用付,Netflix應一併跟進?

Netflix 對於其使用者的瞭解,恐怕連 Amazon 的千分之一都不到,廣告主或 4A 在選擇時,一旦有了 Amazon 作對比的話,誰要往 Netflix 那兒下廣告?

此文不僅在商業面的考量上,未清楚思辨對手的強項,也更忽略了授權的難度。在傳統電視領域裡,最有影響力的電影頻道商是 HBO,而 HBO 向來都是走訂閱制的,而非免費/廣告模式,這和內容提供者的授權有直接關係啊。因此,在 on-demand 的 OTT 世界中,絕對不是 Netflix 可以說了算的。

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