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0 pointsthetrumanshow15y ago0 comments

I respectfully disagree. This is a fantastic move by NetFlix.

NetFlix knows that the ISPs are already pissed at them and are moving to throttle them, so they fire back by showing consumers which of the ISPs are a better fit for their NetFlix viewing habits. NetFlix is flexing its muscle a bit here to show it can redirect customers to choose different ISPs and affect their bottom line.

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6 comments · 2 top-level

draebek15y ago· 2 in thread

> NetFlix is flexing its muscle a bit here to show it can redirect customers to choose different ISPs and affect their bottom line.

I, too, like that Netflix is giving out this kind of information, but let's remember that in the USA many people have two or even just one choice. I have my choice of Comcast cable or AT&T DSL for broadband. That's it. And I'm not 100% sure that AT&T DSL would actually work in my building, and it's top speed is 6Mb/s compared to Comcast's 12Mb/s (or maybe 15Mb/s, I forget). Plus, AT&T: the only company I can think of with worse customer service than Comcast.

So while I like that they're giving out this information I'm not sure it's going to be a good idea to piss off ISPs with this near monopoly situation in many parts of the USA.

thetrumanshowOP15y ago

A BIG fight is brewing, and NetFlix is summoning allies to its cause. If they don't, the ISPs will eventually have their way anyway. So, while I agree, I think NetFlix has almost no choice but to go down this path.

jseliger15y ago

I, too, like that Netflix is giving out this kind of information, but let's remember that in the USA many people have two or even just one choice.

It's even worse: I live in Tucson, and I have two "choices:" Qwest DSL, with a max download speed of 1.5 mb/sec, or Comcast cable, which offers 1.5, 7, or 12. In other words, I have one real choice.

TomOfTTB15y ago· 2 in thread

But see they have no muscle. I'll happily eat my words if this leads to some kind of mass exodus but I don't see it happening. Because in my admittedly anecdotal experience most people already don't like their ISP but are forced into the relationship because of various circumstances.

So while this information would have been worth its weight in gold as a threat to the ISPs its now released where it can do all the damage its going to do. If the impact is found to be negligible than Netflix has lost what little leverage it has over the ISPs.

alexqgb15y ago

Their leverage doesn't come from an increased threat of defections, which is obviously meaningless to monopoly operators. It comes from the promise of painful regulatory intervention in a monopolists operations, backed by the kind of massive and incontrovertible evidence no individual screwee could ever amass, let alone get in front of a court or the FCC.

ericd15y ago

Oh god how I wish there would be some regulatory action to stop all this horse trading that forms these local monopolies. I was stunned when I learned that cable operators actually trade customers and regions rather than competing.

Verizon FIOS looks like the best chance at breaking the monopolies' backs, but it seems to be slow going - I haven't had it available in any of the last four places I've lived in in very dense NYC and Bay Area, yet my parents in rural Maryland who live next to cows have had it for at least four years.

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