Learner Resource 2

Comprehension actitivites: The impact of digital

technologies – Is Netflix changing TV?

YouTube VIDEO SOURCE A

Newsweek - How Netflix Changed TV (29/04/17) 2.56 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL6zNexyt8o

Task
 Watch the short video and answer the questions below.
 You will need to stop and start the video where necessary in order to answer all of the
questions.

What happened to Netflix in April 2017

Reached 100million subscribers

Which companies does Netflix now have more subscribers than?

Amazon prime, Hulu

How many countries is Netflix available in?

Over 190

Which countries is Netflix not available in and why might this be?

Crimea, China, North Korea, Syria

Where do half of Netflix’s subscribers, 50 million, come from?

USA

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 When was Netflix founded, who by and where?

1997, Reed Hastings, Marc Randolph

What did Netflix begin as and how did it change the service?

A mail order dvd service to internet video on demand

When did Netflix expand into Internet video on demand (VOD)?

2007

What was revolutionary about the way they offered viewing?

They offered binge watching

How did this new model of viewing (binge-watching) help shows that may have
otherwise struggled to be aired?

It helped avoid cancellation

What has helped Netflix’s growth?

Improvements in technology and rise in hand-held devices

What were some of the problems that Netflix had?

No content belonged to Netflix and had no guarantee on keeping rights forever

What was Netflix’s solutions to these problems?

To create tv

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 What was Netflix’s first original show and when was it launched?

House of Cards in February 2013

How did House of Cards make history?

Was first online only tv series to receive an emmy nomination

What else did the drama show in terms of cast and crew?

Could attract top actors and producers/ Hollywood talent

By 2016, how many original programmes a year was Netflix producing?

126

How many awards have they won?

147

How are competitors trying to address Netflix’s place in the market?

They are creating their own original programming

How does Netflix plan to stand out from the crowd?

Double original programming, expand native language and unscripted content, cover
everything from concerts to sports events

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 YouTube VIDEO SOURCE B
Business Insider - How Netflix is Killing traditional TV (06/01/15) 2.34 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBafi8PsaHo

Task: Watch the short video and answer the questions below.

1. What does DVR and VOD allow viewers?

Freedom to watch tv outside the regular times

2. What is ‘our future’ for watching TV?

Streaming other tv networks like netflix

3. Which company has been the most disruptive to the traditional TV model?

Netflix

4. Is Netflix a perfect substitute for traditional TV?

No

5. Why do audiences have fewer reasons to be tied to their cable box or TV?

Content providers which have channels on television are now offering streaming online

6. Pay per view (PPV) TV subscribers have fallen by how many since 2013?

389,000

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7. How many subscribers have Netflix increased since 2013?

11million

8. How many worldwide subscribers were Netflix predicted to reach in 2017?

100million

9. What is the main reason given for the prediction that Netflix audiences will grow?

Netflix subscribers are younger than cable tv watchers so will be around for longer

10. What will happen to linear and cable TV?

It will die out due to streaming

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 WRITTEN SOURCE 1
The Guardian
Steve Hewlett – Will Netflix really steal traditional TV’s crown? (12/06/16)
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/12/will-netflix-really-steal-traditional-tvs-crown

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. What 4 reasons are given to explain how Netflix can be seen to be an Internet era
success story?

-went from dvd rental to global on demand entertainment leader, 79million subscribers,
192 countries, high quality content

2. What is it about TV that Netflix suggests people don’t love?

-people don’t love the linear experience

3. How are the changes Netflix are making ‘revolutionary’?

-the ‘netflix effect’, providing good quality on demand television

4. Has Netflix had the same impact on traditional TV viewing in the UK as it has in the US?

-in the UK, people also pay for tv services eg. sky

5. What 4 reasons or statistics are given to show how UK viewing preferences for Netflix
and traditional, linear TV compare?

-netflix generates roughly 38 minutes of viewing per household, linear TV generates 3.5
hours of viewing per household on average and well over 2 hours a day even amongst the
younger Netflix generation. A billion hours streamed by Netflix compares to 65 billion hours
streamed by linear tv

6. How much have Netflix spent on content and original content respectively?

-$1.4billion

7. What is Netflix’s ‘strategic vulnerability’?

-original content is eye-catching for subscribers, but the Netflix service is still dependent on
movies and TV series

8. Which 2 factors are at play that, according to the writer of the article, do not go in
Netflix’s favour?

-tv companies have internet based on demand websites eg. IPlayer. Sky have deals with
Hollywood studios which Netflix don’t

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 WRITTEN SOURCE 2:

The Guardian
Dan Gilmore - Ways of watching: How technology is changing our TV habits (15/02/13)
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/15/ways-watching-technology-
television

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. What is ‘time-shifting’ and why might audiences like it?

Recording to skip adverts

2. How does ‘binge-watching’ help audiences catch up with popular dramas?

You view as many episodes in one sitting

3. What does the writer prefer to call ‘binge-watching’?

Immersive viewing

4. In which 2 ways does ‘immersive viewing’ (time-shifting/binge-watching) affect

traditional TV models?

The traditional business model is in jeopardy as profits will be lost due to decline in
advertising as views fall

5. What/who does the writer compare the ‘next general of professional motion picture
storytellers’ to?

Bloggers and newspaper journalists

6. How does the long form TV series House of Cards fit into the format of ‘unlimited story
cycles’?

It can be produced into a film as it is short and has space to explore characters wider,
therefore won’t come to a sharp end

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7. What does this shift in the way we view TV bring for audiences?

A golden age of story telling in serial formal

8. What has new digital technology enabled with Video on Demand?

Anyone can find something interesting to watch

9. Why is the writer worried about issues of privacy and streaming?

We are letting big companies and governments know what we read and see in an online
world

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 WRITTEN SOURCE 3:
Netflix Media Centre
Erin Dwyer – Ready, Set, Binge (17/11/17)
https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/ready-set-binge-more-than-8-million-viewers-
binge-race-their-favorite-series

Task: Read the article and answer the questions below.

1. How has Netflix changed the way the world engages with stories?

Viewers watch when, where and how they want, at whatever pace

2. What kind of fan has this given rise to?

The binge racer

3. What characterises the ‘binge-racer’?

Accomplishing in a day what takes others weeks to achieve

4. How many members have chosen to ‘binge-race’ on Netflix?

8.4million

5. Which kinds of content do binge racers like to watch?

Anything with a finish to the story

6. Are differences in consumption preferences dependent on where the viewer is globally?

Give some examples in your answer.

Five members in the US have raced through all five seasons of House of Cards the day
they were released, a member in France has already raced through 30 different shows
this year alone
7. Which country has the most binge-racers and what is the most ‘binged’ drama?

Gilmore Girls in Canada

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 8. List 5 of the top 20 binge raced shows that you have seen. Is your set product in the
top 20 list?

1. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life- Canada

2. Fuller House- US

3. Marvel's The Defenders- Denmark

4. The Seven Deadly Sins- Finland

5. The Ranch- Norway

9. What are the top 5 countries for binge racing?

Canada, US, Denmark, Finland, Norway

10. Why has the concept of binge racing grown more than 20 times in the last 4 years?
What reasons can you give for this?

People have busier days so when they get break, they tend to binge watch to relax as they
want to make it to the end of the story. It is also very accessible so more people take
advantage

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The impact of digital technology – Is Netflix
changing TV?
Feedback Grid
You have now considered a number of different ideas about the ways in which digital
technologies, and Netflix as an example of an online streaming platform, can be seen to
change how long form TV dramas are broadcast and viewed by audiences.
Use the grid below to record the 5 key points about technology, Netflix, TV viewing and some
of the issues associated with this from each of the 5 sources we have studied.

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 Newsweek - How Netflix Changed TV (29/04/17)
-Netflix is the first growing and most successful business to offer extreme binge watching
as well as creating their own television
-Netflix reached 100million subscribers in April 2017
-Netflix is available in over 190 countries
-Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
-Netflix expanded to VOD in 2007
Business Insider - How Netflix is Killing traditional TV (06/01/15)
-It gives freedom to watch what you want, when you want
-Netflix increased by 11million subscribers since 2013
-Cable tv will die out due to streaming
-In the future, other tv networks will stream like Netflix
-Netflix isn’t a substitute for traditional television
Steve Hewlett – Will Netflix really steal traditional TV’s crown? (12/06/16)
-People don’t enjoy the linear experience and Netflix gives more freedom
-The ‘netflix effect’, providing good quality on demand television makes Netflix revolutionary
-In the UK, people also pay for tv services eg. Sky, rather than just streaming in the US
-$1.4billion has been spent on original content
-Original content is eye-catching for subscribers, but the Netflix service is still dependent on
movies and TV series
Dan Gilmore - Ways of watching: How technology is changing our TV habits
(15/02/13)
-We prefer binge watching as it is readily available
-A golden age of story telling in serial formal
-Binge watching is watching as many episodes as possible in one sitting
- Anyone can find something interesting to watch with VOD
- The traditional business model is in jeopardy as profits will be lost due to decline in
advertising as views fall
Erin Dwyer – Ready, Set, Binge (17/11/17)
-Binge watching is on a rise and as it is so readily available, it is a norm across many
different countries and in our day and age
-Binge racers accomplish in a day what takes others weeks to achieve
-Top 5 countries for binge racing: Canada, US, Denmark, Finland, Norway
-8.4million people binge race on Netflix
- Gilmore Girls (Canada) is the most binge watches series

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