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

It reached 10 million subscribers

Which companies does Netflix now have more subscribers than?

Amazon Prime and Hulu

How many countries is Netflix available in?

190

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

China, North Korea, Syria, Crimea

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

U.S

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 When was Netflix founded, who by and where?

1997, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scott’s Valley, California

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

Mail order DVD Service

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

2007

What was revolutionary about the way they offered viewing?

Binge Watching

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

Can watch it all at once and not miss an episode rather than week in week out release which
may be missed by some viewers.

What has helped Netflix’s growth?

Hand Held devices

What were some of the problems that Netflix had?

None of the content belonged to them

What was Netflix’s solutions to these problems?

Creating their own shows

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

House of Cards, February 2013

How did House of Cards make history?

The first online only series to be nominated for an Emmy.

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

Kevin Spacey, David Finch

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

126

How many awards have they won?

147, 1 Oscar, 55 Emmys, 2 Golden globes

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

Created their own streaming services

How does Netflix plan to stand out from the crowd?

Double more original programming, live TV

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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?

Watch programs outside of the regularly scheduled time.

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

Unbundling and streaming video

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?

Channels offering their own streaming services

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?

11 million

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

100 million

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

Age of customers

10. What will happen to linear and cable TV?

Die unless they keep control of the content

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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?

79 million subscribers, 192 countries, billions of dollars in revenues and here in Britain
from zero to five million subscribing households in just four years. The company’s growing
commitment to creating original content of the highest quality

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

People love TV content but they don’t love the linear TV experience

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

It forecasts the certain death of traditional TV

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

No

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

38 minutes of viewing per day in households that have it, linear TV generates more like 3.5
hours of viewing per household on average and well over 2 hours a day even amongst the
younger, so-called “Netflix generation”. A billion hours streamed by Netflix compares to 65
billion hours streamed (ok, broadcast…) by linear TV

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

$10bn

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

Original content is eye-catching and plainly a real draw for subscribers, but the Netflix
service is still hugely dependent on movies and TV series that have to be licensed from
the big players in traditional TV.

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

Established players already have internet-based on-demand services of their own – think
BBC iPlayer, BBC Store, Hulu, Sky Now the more successful Netflix becomes the more
those rights holders will try to make it pay for their content

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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?

Saving Time

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

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?

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

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

Standard

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

On-demand video would let them watch anything ever made, anytime.

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

DVR

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

Privacy

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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’?

Binge Racers strive to be the first to finish by speeding through an entire season within 24
hours of its release*.

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

8.4 million Members

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

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

Give some examples in your answer.

Yes

7. Which country has the most binge-racers and what is the most ‘binged’ drama?

U.S

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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, 2.Fuller House, 3.Marvel's The Defenders, 4.The Seven
Deadly Sins, 5.The Ranch

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?

Increase in Subscribers

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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)

Business Insider - How Netflix is Killing traditional TV (06/01/15)

Steve Hewlett – Will Netflix really steal traditional TV’s crown? (12/06/16)

Dan Gilmore - Ways of watching: How technology is changing our TV habits

(15/02/13)

Erin Dwyer – Ready, Set, Binge (17/11/17)

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