Netflix has reached an exclusive streaming video deal with new film distributor Open Road that kicks off with the upcoming action pic "Killer Elite." The arrangement won't do anything for Netflix's current lineup of streaming movies, as the distributor has only one other film in the hopper, a sci-fi story from the writer of the "Twilight" … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2011
YouTube posts record time
YouTube hit a record average viewing time and music nexus Vevo continued as No. 2 with a bullet in the latest U.S. online video rankings. Vevo, often is described as the Hulu of music videos, registered 60.4 unique users in May, the latest month for which figures are available. That's up from 55 million users in April and well off recent lows of … [Read more...]
Cable ‘cord cutting’ soars
Subscribers who stream Netflix's videos are twice as likely to downgrade or cancel their cable TV service -- the much-debated "cutting of the cord" -- a new study finds. A digital think tank says its survey of Netflix subscribers shows the likelihood of them downgrading or dumping cable or satellite TV soared to 32 percent in 2011 -- up from 16 … [Read more...]
‘Platoon’ brings the jungle back home
MGM has redeployed Oliver Stone's "Platoon" in a Blu-ray edition that marks the movie's debut in high def and its 25th anniversary. The Vietnam War film -- released at Christmas 1986 -- has been followed by a host of Vietnam War films, but remains in the upper tier because of its strong young cast, terse storytelling and claustrophobic scenes of … [Read more...]
Netflix redesign backlash
Netflix's Watch Instantly customers are seeing a new landing page, one with bigger images, more titles on display and smoother functionality. Predictably, a lot of them don't like it. The old design -- horsey by any measure -- is still around in spirit. Users continue use the familiar rows of DVD box art to navigate titles, but there are more … [Read more...]