As I’m sure many of you can guess my addiction to my Google Chromecast has also extended to Netflix. I watch a lot of streaming content and that’s why this video caught my attention.
On August 22 at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, Kevin Spacey delivered an emphatic speech about the Netflix model, specifically about how giving consumers what they want is the key to success in the new age of television and entertainment. In essence Spacey said give the customer whats they want how they want it. For cordcutters this was huge as someone who is part of the ‘Big Hollywood Machine’ was advocating a cord cutter approach.
Mr. Spacey is an incredibly gifted speaker and devliers quite the impassioned speech. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing just pay attention to this part I have taken from the transcript.
Clearly the success of the Netflix model, releasing the entire season of House of Cards at once, proved one thing: The audience wants the control. They want the freedom. If they want to binge as they’ve been doing on House of Cards and lots of other shows, we should let them binge. I can’t tell you how many people have stopped me on the street and said, ‘Thank you, you sucked three days out of my life.’
And through this new form of distribution, we have demonstrated that we have learned the lesson that the music industry didn’t learn: Give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they’ll more likely pay for it rather than steal it. Well, some will still steal it, but I think we can take a bite out of piracy.
Personally, I think Mr. Spacey is spot on with his assessment and I think that’s why there are so many streaming/content delivery services available on the market such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Instant Video, and much more. Check out the speech below, its worth your time.
Spacey is dead on right with his assessment of the current model in Hollywood. Here’s hoping people were listening, but until then I think its safe to say we can still look to Netflix for some incredible binge watching experiences.
