Learner Resource 2

Comprehension actitivites: The impact of digital

technologies – Is Netflix changing TV?

YouTube VIDEO SOURCE A

Newsweek - How Netflix Changed TV (29/04/17) 2.56 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL6zNexyt8o

Task
 Watch the short video and answer the questions below.
 You will need to stop and start the video where necessary in order to answer all of the
questions.

What happened to Netflix in April 2017

 Netflix reached 100 million subscribers

Which companies does Netflix now have more subscribers than?

 More than Amazon Prime --- estimated 76 million subscribers

 More than Hulu --- estimated only 12 million subscribers

How many countries is Netflix available in?

 Currently available in over 190 countries

Which countries is Netflix not available in and why might this be?

 Crimea
 China
 North Korea
 Syria

Where do half of Netflix’s subscribers, 50 million, come from?

 Half of Netflix’s subscribers come from the US

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 When was Netflix founded, who by and where?

 Founded in 1997 by Americans Reed Hastings & Marc Randolph

What did Netflix begin as and how did it change the service?

 Began as a mail order DVD service, delivering mail to your door

 2007, expanded into internet video on demand

When did Netflix expand into Internet video on demand (VOD)?

 2007

What was revolutionary about the way they offered viewing?

 Viewers were able to consume a season all in one go, rather than having to wait for a new
episode weekly

How did this new model of viewing (binge-watching) help shows that may have
otherwise struggled to be aired?

What has helped Netflix’s growth?

 Improvements in streaming technology

 Rise in use of hand held devices
 Vast library of films

What were some of the problems that Netflix had?

 None of the content belonged to Netflix

 Therefore paying the original network creators
 Netflix had no guarantee that they’d be able to keep the rights forever

What was Netflix’s solutions to these problems?

 Go from streaming TV to creating it

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 What was Netflix’s first original show and when was it launched?

 First original show: ‘House of Cards’

 Launched February 2013

How did House of Cards make history?

 Was the first online only television series to receive an emmy nomination

What else did the drama show in terms of cast and crew?

 Showed that Netflix could attract top Hollywood talent to work on a web TV series

By 2016, how many original programmes a year was Netflix producing?

 Approx. 126 original programmes a year

How many awards have they won?

 Won 147 awards

 Including in these: 1 Oscar, 55 Emmy’s & 2 Golden Globes

How are competitors trying to address Netflix’s place in the market?

 Other on demand services have developed their own original programmes

 & more competition within the market – more online streaming services available

How does Netflix plan to stand out from the crowd?

 Plan to double their amount of original programming by 2017

 Expanding on native language, unscripted & reality content
 Could venture into live TV, covering concerts & sports events too

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 YouTube VIDEO SOURCE B
Business Insider - How Netflix is Killing traditional TV (06/01/15) 2.34 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBafi8PsaHo

Task: Watch the short video and answer the questions below.

1. What does DVR and VOD allow viewers?

2. What is ‘our future’ for watching TV?

 Streaming video, watching it on demand

3. Which company has been the most disruptive to the traditional TV model?

4. Is Netflix a perfect substitute for traditional TV?

 No, Netflix only allows you to watch so much

 Cable TV allows you to watch sports matches, concerts & specific channel content that is
unavailable on Netflix

5. Why do audiences have fewer reasons to be tied to their cable box or TV?

 Channel’s offering streaming subscriptions, therefore cable isn’t necessary in order to

watch them

6. Pay per view (PPV) TV subscribers have fallen by how many since 2013?

 Fallen by 189,000

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7. How many subscribers have Netflix increased since 2013?

 42% increase

8. How many worldwide subscribers were Netflix predicted to reach in 2017?

 Predicted 100 million subscribers worldwide by 2017

9. What is the main reason given for the prediction that Netflix audiences will grow?

 Cable TV watchers are much older, whereas Netflix watchers are younger & will be around
for a longer time

10. What will happen to linear and cable TV?

 Linear TV will die

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 WRITTEN SOURCE 1
The Guardian
Steve Hewlett – Will Netflix really steal traditional TV’s crown? (12/06/16)
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/12/will-netflix-really-steal-traditional-tvs-crown

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. What 4 reasons are given to explain how Netflix can be seen to be an Internet era
success story?

 Domestic US rental business to a global lead in on demand entertainment in just 20 years

 79 million subscribers
 192 countries streaming in
 5 million subscribing households within Britain within only 5 years

2. What is it about TV that Netflix suggests people don’t love?

 Netflix say that people love TV content but not the linear TV experience

3. How are the changes Netflix are making ‘revolutionary’?

 A service which is doing damage to linear TV businesses, allowing people to watch an

array of content whenever & wherever all from the same site

4. Has Netflix had the same impact on traditional TV viewing in the UK as it has in the US?

 Different impact in US & UK

 US – Netflix more likely replaces TV, pay TV in US is one of the highest in the world, hence
Netflix is a cheap replacement service
 Whereas in the UK the majority of Netflix subscribers are also subscribers for Sky or Virgin
pa TV services, hence Netflix is seen as more of a complement to what they already get
rather than replacement

5. What 4 reasons or statistics are given to show how UK viewing preferences for Netflix
and traditional, linear TV compare?

 Netflix generates roughly 38mins of viewing per day, whereas linear TV generates roughly
3.5 hours
 Netflix generation still watch over 2 hours a day of linear TV
 1 billion hours streamed by Netflix compares to 65 billion broadcasted by linear TV

6. How much have Netflix spent on content and original content respectively?

 Amount spent on content overall is reported to be around $10 billion, with $1.4 billion of
this being from original commissions
 i.e. The Crown cost £100 million alone

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7. What is Netflix’s ‘strategic vulnerability’?

 Although their own original content attracts subscribers, Netflix is hugely dependent on
movies & Tv series that have to be licensed from big players in traditional TV.

8. Which 2 factors are at play that, according to the writer of the article, do not go in
Netflix’s favour?

1. All of these established players already have internet based on demand services of their
own, therefore can deny access to Netflix for their attractive content as they can stream it
on their own sites instead
2. The more successful Netflix becomes the more those rights holders will try to make it pay
for their content

WRITTEN SOURCE 2:

The Guardian
Dan Gilmore - Ways of watching: How technology is changing our TV habits (15/02/13)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/15/ways-watching-technology-
television

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. What is ‘time-shifting’ and why might audiences like it?

 Time-shifting is when audience can view videos after the live broadcasting, allowing
audiences to shift through time within the series/film.
 Allows audiences to shift by hours, days, seasons, years
 Audiences may like this as they can binge watching- fitting watching film/tv production
into their working lives

2. How does ‘binge-watching’ help audiences catch up with popular dramas?

 Allows them to catch up all in one go if preferred/easier by them

 Can view many episodes in one sitting
 Can view episodes between travels – works around your schedule rather than working
yourself around a tv schedule

3. What does the writer prefer to call ‘binge-watching’?

 ‘Immersive viewing’

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4. In which 2 ways does ‘immersive viewing’ (time-shifting/binge-watching) affect
traditional TV models?

 Immersive viewing means that we are now deliberately refusing to participate in the initial
run of their shows because we can watch it through immersive viewing months later. This
1) lowers their viewing levels/ statistics
2) mean their host networks lose profit & waste production capital from their
advertisements which aren’t receiving expected views because viewers skip adverts all
together in immersive viewing & therefore prefer to wait a few months after the shows
initial release to watch it through immersive viewing/binge watching

5. What/who does the writer compare the ‘next general of professional motion picture
storytellers’ to?

 ‘the next generation of professional motion picture storytellers will be liberated from the
weekly format, just as blogging & other online media liberated newspaper journalists
from the 24-hour news cycle.’

6. How does the long form TV series House of Cards fit into the format of ‘unlimited story
cycles’?

 Has self-contained dramas with story arcs that allow for exploration of characters &
subplots
 Therefore allows the format of ‘unlimited story cycles’

7. What does this shift in the way we view TV bring for audiences?

 Bringing in a ‘golden age of storytelling in a serial format’

8. What has new digital technology enabled with Video on Demand?

 Allows you to watch what you want where you want

9. Why is the writer worried about issues of privacy and streaming?

 The writer is worried that our privacy now a days isn’t as private, allowing the government
& big companies know what we read and see in an online world
 They believe that we should try find a way to restore the ability to read & watch
anonymously

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 WRITTEN SOURCE 3:
Netflix Media Centre
Erin Dwyer – Ready, Set, Binge (17/11/17)
https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/ready-set-binge-more-than-8-million-viewers-
binge-race-their-favorite-series

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. How has Netflix changed the way the world engages with stories?

 Viewers watch when, where & how they want, at whatever pace

2. What kind of fan has this given rise to?

 ‘The Binge Racer’

3. What characterises the ‘binge-racer’?

 Binge Racers strive to be the first to finish by speeding through an entire season within 24
hours of its release

4. How many members have chosen to ‘binge-race’ on Netflix?

 8.4 million members have chosen to binge race on Netflix

5. Which kinds of content do binge racers like to watch?

 Shows of all shapes, sizes, genres & formats

 30 min comedies like ‘GLOW’ & ‘Dear White People’
 Hour long thrillers like ‘Stranger Things’, ‘House of Cards’ & ‘Orange is the New Black’
 Anime like ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’

6. Are differences in consumption preferences dependent on where the viewer is globally?

Give some examples in your answer.

 Top spot in which programme is consumed most by global racers varies regarding the
country
 ‘Fuller House’ reigns high up in Ecuador
 ‘Marvel’s The Defenders’ high up in Korea
 ‘Club de Cuervos’ no.1 in Mexico

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7. Which country has the most binge-racers and what is the most ‘binged’ drama?

 Canada has the highest percentage of binge-racers, most popularly binge watching ‘Trailer
Park Boys’

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8. List 5 of the top 20 binge raced shows that you have seen. Is your set product in the
top 20 list?

SOME OF THE TOP BINGE-RACED SHOWS THAT IVE SEEN

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Orange is the New Black
3. Friends

Other binge raced shows include:

 Santa Clarita Diet

 Atypical
 Grace and Frankie
 House of Cards
 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

9. What are the top 5 countries for binge racing?

1. Canada
2. United States
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Norway

10. Why has the concept of binge racing grown more than 20 times in the last 4 years?
What reasons can you give for this?

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The impact of digital technology – Is Netflix
changing TV?
Feedback Grid
You have now considered a number of different ideas about the ways in which digital
technologies, and Netflix as an example of an online streaming platform, can be seen to
change how long form TV dramas are broadcast and viewed by audiences.
Use the grid below to record the 5 key points about technology, Netflix, TV viewing and some
of the issues associated with this from each of the 5 sources we have studied.

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 Newsweek - How Netflix Changed TV (29/04/17)

 Founded in 1997
 Netflix Began as a mail order DVD service, delivering mail to your door
 2007, expanded into internet video on demand
 Now Netflix is available in over 190 countries, dominating the online video streaming
industry
 Netflix now has over 100 million subscribers
 Improvements in streaming technology, their vast library of films & a rise in the use of
hand held devices helped their growth

Business Insider - How Netflix is Killing traditional TV (06/01/15)

 Future for TV is now streaming video, allowing us to watch on demand

 However, Netflix only allows you to watch so much – doesn’t show sports matches,
concerts etc.
 Therefore still use/need for cable traditional tv
 But channels now offer their own streaming subscriptions, further decreasing need
for cable
 Since 2013 Netflix has had a 42% increase in subscribers whereas pay per view TV
subscribers have fallen by 189,000
 Older gen watch more cable TV, younger gen watch more streaming/Netflix
therefore linear TV likely to die off eventually with the generation

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 Steve Hewlett – Will Netflix really steal traditional TV’s crown? (12/06/16)

 US rental business to a global lead in on demand entertainment in just 20 years

 192 countries streaming in
 5 millions subscribing households within Britain within only 5 years
 But Netflix has had a different impact in US & UK – US Netflix more likely replaces
TV bc pay TV in US is one of the most expensive in the world, therefore Netflix =
cheaper alternative
 UK – majority Netflix subscribers are also subscribers to Virgin or Sky TV services,
hence Netflix complements what they already have rather than replaces
 But Netflix is hugely dependent on movies & TV licensed from big TV players in trad
TV = strategic vulnerability
 Things not in Netflix’s favour --- players can deny access to Netflix for their
attractive content as they can stream on their own sites instead, & the more
successful Netflix becomes the more those rights holders will try to make it pay for
their content

Dan Gilmore - Ways of watching: How technology is changing our TV habits

(15/02/13)

 ‘Time-shifting’ = audience can view videos after the live broadcast, allowing them to
shift through time within the film/series
 Allows binge watching^ // ‘immersive viewing’
 ‘Immersive viewing’ means that we are now deliberately refusing to participate in
the initial run of shows bc we can watch it through immersive viewing months later =
host networks lose profit & lowers initial viewing statistics
 ‘Unlimited story cycles’ = self-contained dramas w/ story arcs that allow for
exploration of characters & subplots
 BUT there is issues w/ privacy & streaming , govn. & big companies know what we
read and see in an online world

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 Erin Dwyer – Ready, Set, Binge (17/11/17)

 Viewers now watch what they want, when they want, where they want
 Rise of the ‘Binge Racer’
 ‘Binge Racer’= strive to be the first to finish an entire season within 24hrs of release
 4million binge race on Netflix
 They binge race all kinds of shows, no real specific
 Top Binge Raced Series = Gilmore Girls, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards,
Atypical, Grace & Frankie
 Top 5 Binge Racing Countries = Canada, US, Denmark, Finland, Norway

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