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Tech

Netflix Is Actively Becoming Just Another TV Channel

Netflix is losing lots of Hollywood movies, but says it has its own content to keep you happy.
Image: Netflix

Fans of movies like The Hunger Games and World War Z are waking up to bad news this morning after Netflix revealed in a Sunday evening blog post that it will not renew its contract with Epix, the premium cable channel whose deal with Netflix put those movies (and plenty of others) on the streaming service.

Of course, Netflix attempted to spin the news in the most positive light possible, saying it's now in the position to offer so much high-quality original programming that it doesn't think you'll miss the Epix movies.

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"While many of these movies are popular, they are also widely available on cable and other subscription platforms at the same time as they are on Netflix and subject to the same drawn out licensing periods," said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in the blog post. (Epix later confirmed that it had signed an agreement with Hulu to carry these films.) Sarandos pointed to Netflix original programming like Narcos, A Very Murray Christmas, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend as reasons why subscribers should stick around.

All of this ties into the ongoing narrative surrounding the pay TV business, which is to say that cord cutters, or people who drop their cable for cheaper options (like Netflix and Hulu), are turning the business upside down.

Netflix provided a lifeline to many of these companies by licensing their old programming and attracting subscribers—subscribers whose dollars are now being used to fund original programming that it doesn't have to renegotiate the rights for a couple years down the line.

In that sense, Netflix is becoming just like every other television channel, albeit with the added bonus of owning its own distribution model: Netflix takes all of the money its subscribers pay each month, whereas regular television channels have to deal with complex cable company deals. Sarandos's comment hints that Netflix no longer wants to become a replacement for cable (or for Blockbuster, for that matter). Instead, it wants to be seen as more of a standalone content producer—a service you pay for regardless of whether or not you have a cable subscription.

Netflix, it's now clear, was running a long con the whole time.