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posted by chromas on Wednesday January 23 2019, @12:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the moar-DRM dept.

Netflix has become the first streaming company to join the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Hollywood’s most powerful lobbying group. This is the first time a non-Hollywood group has joined the group which consists of the six Hollywood studios. The MPAA has been a strong proponent of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) in all technologies it touches and lobbies extensively for maximal reductions in use.

The Netflix-MPAA union coincides with the streamer becoming a card-carrying member of the Oscar race after securing an unprecedented 15 nominations on Tuesday morning. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Sarandos are intent on upping the company's profile as a legitimate force in the movie business, and joining the MPAA will further that goal.

Additionally, once Fox is merged with Disney, the MPAA will have one less member, meaning a loss of as much as $10 million to $12 million in annual dues. Sources say the MPAA is courting other new members as well (Amazon could be a candidate).

Articles about Netflix have been featured a lot on SN in many different contexts.

Earlier on SN:
Video Streaming Services set for Cambrian Explosion (2019)
Netflix to Raise $2 Billion in Debt to Fund More Original Content (2018)
Netflix is the Latest Company to Try Bypassing Apple's App Store (2018)
[. . .]


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Wednesday January 23 2019, @10:51PM

    by edIII (791) on Wednesday January 23 2019, @10:51PM (#790878)

    You're using Netflix incorrectly then. I think I get a 1/3 to 1/2 of my content via Netflix, and the rest via piracy.

    When I wish to watch something that is on Netflix, it's just plain easier, or about the same amount of work on Kodi, to watch it. The moment Netflix drops a show, I use piracy instead. The interesting part is that if I pirate Netflix content, am I actually pirating Netflix content? I'm already entitled to watch it, and I flat out deny the ability of any copyright owner to dictate how I consume their protected work, or if I can consume it in 720/1080/4k/480p/3D/8k/etc. If I paid for a license, I can watch it any way I want, anytime I want, on any device I want, in any place on the planet I want.

    Netflix makes it easy for me to be legal for quite a lot of content, and still, at a pretty damn cheap price point. It's still something like $15/mo, and I can remember in my ignorant youth paying a cable TV provider $139/mo. So I'm loathe to call them greedy or unaffordable.

    The real question is how comfortable am I with part of that $15/mo going to the coffers of the MPAA. The answer is that I'm seriously considering getting rid of Netflix, and switching to straight 100% piracy for all content from now on.

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