THB #104: 6 Truths About Streaming

So many claims flying in so many directions… I thought something simple that spoke to the basics might be good to have as a base camp.

1. Nothing Else Is Netflix… Or Will Be Netflix… Or Is Ever Likely To Be Netflix.

It’s almost funny to watch these power players aspire to something they cannot become. And it’s not, as some assert, that Netflix is the leader in streaming and can never be caught. That is just silly. But what Netflix is cannot be separated from its origin story.

Netflix, from the start, took a paradigm-shift in content delivery, the DVD, and flipped the way it was valued by consumers by putting it on a subscription service that was not only more convenient than renting at a brick and mortar store, but was more than price competitive. It was relatively cheap.

The eventual transition to streaming was even more bold. When they started streaming, the tech really didn’t work well. People also didn’t have home internet of high quality or in many cases, any home internet at all. …