In a recent Slate Magazine article, Reihan Salam describes the pros and cons of Netflix's new online service, Watch Now. It allows subscribers to stream, on their computers, one hour of video for approximately each dollar he or she spends in monthly fees; there is no additional cost (e.g. a user with the $17.95 plan gets 18 hours of viewing time per month). Salam mentions that the service is part of a competitive strategy against Blockbuster and, recently, Amazon.com and iTunes--all of which provide services similar to Watch Now.
The article praises Watch Now's quick and easy setup, fairly clear video quality, simple viewing format, and fast loading time. However, the author believes the service has plenty of room for improvement. Format incompatability (it only works on Windows), limited viewing selection (only 1,000 titles are currently available), and streaming issues (inability to easily skip around due to buffering) were named as faults.
Watch Now's pros and cons characterize it as a great service for a certian niche of viewers; those who prefer to watch videos all the way through with minimal "skipping around" ("traditional movie watchers," as Salam calls them,) may find this service beneficial, while those looking for the "DVD experience" would probably be better off buying movies and shows from iTunes.
The author seems to come down hard on Watch Now's shortcomings, noting that "right now, [it's] all promise." However, from a marketing standpoint, the product (a limited number of streamable rather than downloadable videos) seems to be great considering the price (free for subscribers), as long as customers find value in the low price, ease of use, and instant entertainment gratification afforded by the service.
Read the article here.
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