Reed Hastings Is Leaving Netflix After 29 Years (engadget.com) 31
Reed Hastings is stepping down from Netflix's board in June, ending a 29-year run at the company he co-founded and helped transform from a DVD-by-mail business into a global streaming giant. Hastings said in a shareholder (PDF) letter that he's stepping down to focus on "his philanthropy and other pursuits." Engadget reports: Hastings has served as chairman of Netflix's board since 2023, a role he assumed after stepping down as co-CEO and promoting Greg Peters in his place. "Netflix changed my life in so many ways, and my all-time favorite memory was January 2016, when we enabled nearly the entire planet to enjoy our service," Hastings said in a statement. "My real contribution at Netflix wasn't a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come. A special thanks to Greg and Ted, whose commitment to Netflix's greatness is so strong that I can now focus on new things."
The real gift. (Score:5, Interesting)
"My real contribution at Netflix wasn't a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come.”
I’d say the real gift to Netflix consumers today, is No Fucking Ads.
Given that is now an old-fashioned outdated mentality no matter how far consumers pay to bend over and take it up the streaming pipe, I smell change coming soon.
Enshittification, is something to be expected with the departure of an executive born last century - New Profit Order
Re:The real gift. (Score:5, Insightful)
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I spend A LOT of effort to make certain I see no ads. It is shocking to see how other people interact with tech. Why would anyone put up unfiltered internet is beyond me.
Companies spend a LOT of money to secure the default setting now, because almost everyone is too lazy to even put in a little effort to change it.
Tends to explain why ads practically sell themselves if humans are involved at all.
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I spend A LOT of effort to make certain I see no ads. It is shocking to see how other people interact with tech. Why would anyone put up unfiltered internet is beyond me.
It's a good thing for you that most people do. Those ads your'e avoiding fund most of the content you consume. You can only freeride as long as enough others are paying the toll to subsidize you. I do the same, but I won't be surprised or angry if it becomes impossible.
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As it turns out, I and a lot of other people are willing to pay a fee to avoid seeing ads, so the shows do actually get funded anyway.
I hate ads with a passion, and miss the old days of the internet where people would get mad at you for advertising.
the real gift is including (Score:2)
Anyone have an academic study on how the PR and soundbite releases from startup leader and former startup leaders
overlap with language used by cult leaders?
Ah... (Score:2, Troll)
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You really think that not a single other person/company could think "hey what if we played this video over the internet instead of using physical media?"
I think it was inevitable. If Netflix didn't do it, some other startup or established company would have.
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You could buy Hollywood movies on iTunes before Netflix streaming even launched, and iTunes wasn't first either. Movielink launched in 2002, and it was literally a joint venture of Paramount, Sony, MGM, Universal, and Warner Bros. The studios built their own digital delivery platform years before Netflix got into streaming. It flopped, but 'getting Hollywood on board' had already happened.
Netflix pioneered plenty of things. This wasn't one of them.
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If Netflix didn't do it, some other startup or established company would have.
The company name on the tip of your theory, was Blockbuster.
Call it the fumble of the century in media.
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You really think that not a single other person/company could think "hey what if we played this video over the internet instead of using physical media?"
Obviously many others had thought of it. Hastings' brilliant idea was to pivot from what was working (DVD rental by mail -- which itself was pretty innovative) to streaming while the DVD business was still good. That seems like a blindingly obvious move in hindsight but it's actually really hard when you're in the thick of running a successful business to step back and think "We need to completely change our business strategy, even though it's working well".
As geekmux mentioned, Blockbuster was incredib
Re:Ah... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it is well-deserved. Remember, if not for him it would still be cable and rental DVDs.
The Netflix DVD service was remarkable in its time. You could get movies and shows that were so obscure it was nearly impossible to buy a copy, or find them for rent locally. I wish that they had had some way of licensing some of those older films for streaming availability. Losing that format lost a huge chunk of my interest in Netflix. Watching them slowly turn to self-created content that, frankly, sucks horribly 90-95% of the time with only the odd win here or there was painful. The best thing they have today is access to foreign created shows that you can't really access in other ways. Not that I've had my subscription for a while, as you can catch up on what they have that's worth watching in about a month of access every two years or so these days.
With a C suite departure, I expect to see what little quality is left to disappear over the next year or two. Ads in all tiers will be first. Then expect a flurry of self-made programming that's all extra low-budget, zero effort, tick the boxes trash to start flooding the interface every time you open it.
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Ads in all tiers will be first.
This will get me to cancel after years of uninterrupted subscribing.
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> a flurry of self-made programming that's all extra low-budget, zero effort, tick the boxes trash to start flooding the interface every time you open it.
Bravo!
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I preferred Netflix from the DVD in the mail days.
They had EVERYTHING. I kept a constant flow of discs in the mail and copied all of them, building up a large library of DVDs. I recently cancelled my account because I couldn't remember the last time I searched for something I wanted to watch and they actually had it.
Streaming in the last few years has become awful. To watch one movie, you need an account with one company. To watch another, you need an account with a different company. I've cancelled al
When the rats... (Score:2)
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...abandon a sinking ship
hmmm..
Revenue in Billions - 33.70
Profit in Billions - 10.40
yep - sinking.....
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nice - my previous post with facts - was deleted....
https://slashdot.org/comments.... [slashdot.org]
nice and fair on slashdot
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meh (Score:2)
If I had that kind of money I'd have stepped down long ago to live on a private South Pacific island with rum, hot tubs, and supermodels.
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Same. I've always wondered why people with insane amounts of money keep working. I understand wanting to keep busy with hobbies, projects, personal interests, travel, etc., but man, life is short, if I could chill and enjoy a life of leisure, absolutely I would.
I hope ... (Score:2)
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Did you rewind them?