OxBlog

Monday, February 13, 2006

# Posted 6:59 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

TWO THUMBS DOWN FOR NETFLIX: Will Baude looks at falsehood in advertising.
(3) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments:
That Netflix uses such a priority algorithm has been well known and publicly admitted for at least two years. There is no news in this story. There is no false advertising either, except to that part of the public which confuses "unlimited" with "infinite", and who think a buffet restaurant should hire extra cooks anytime they show up with a band of sumo wrestlers.

In any case, there are many different views on what is "fair". Keep in mind that heavy users send up to 5 times as many discs per week back to Netflix as light users. Without adjusting the priorities, light users would have to wait 5 times as long (in calendar time) to receive new releases versus heavy users.

What Netflix does here is both good sense AND good business.
 
I can't say I agree here, as Netflix has an opportunity to gain some loyalty among its best customers. What it is doing is creating a customer service nightmare, and when the next up and coming service arrives, many heavy Netflix users will switch, giving a nice customer base to a new entity.
 
It also appears as if the press is starting to sniff about on this. NBC aired a story the other day on this very topic!
 
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