Netflix library in South Africa will have to be cut down to meet local content quota – Report

[cguy]

Overheard in Netflix head quarters: “So, apparently we need to rename ‘Sabrina’ to something called ‘Liewe Heksie’, and ‘Black Panther’ to ‘Die Swart Kat’”

 

[dualmeister]

So if you cannot compete the answer is to cripple the opposition. Must be nice to make laws so that you can get your way.

 

[Polymathic]

I think this will push Amazon Prime out of SA. They barely have enough content now & doubt they have the numbers of Netflix SA.

We are already an after thought, we just get their Indian catalogue here

I doubt even netflix has the numbers needed to make staying in SA viable.

Yeah I think you're probably right, I haven't watched DSTV for anything other than sport in a long time, I just checked the online schedule and I dont see any netflix content. But they do carry Netflix as an OTT service so they do have an active relationship..

That said, I think whats more likely to happen is for Netflix to look at SA and us being 0.00001% of their revenue and decide its just not worth the admin and pull out of SA entirely..

Netflix is available to almost every country in the world except China, Syria and North Korea. There's zero chance that they'll pull out from the country. They'll just cut down their library to just local content and Netflix Exclusives. It will actually more profitable in the long run because they don't have buy licenses from 3rd party distributors.

 

[newby_investor]

I'm sure Multichoice would love to help Netflix out of a bind. They're just so darn nice.

Is Carte Blanche a MultiChoice thing?

 

[Johnatan56]

We are already an after thought, we just get their Indian catalogue here


Netflix is available to almost every country in the world except China, Syria and North Korea. There's zero chance that they'll pull out from the country. They'll just cut down their library to just local content and Netflix Exclusives. It will actually more profitable in the long run because they don't have buy licenses from 3rd party distributors.

No, since they'll have less content, making it more difficult to compete.

Is Carte Blanche a MultiChoice thing?

Mnet, yeah: https://m-net.dstv.com/show/carte-blanche/

 

[Polymathic]

No, since they'll have less content, making it more difficult to compete.


Mnet, yeah: https://m-net.dstv.com/show/carte-blanche/

Well they don't really need to compete with MultiChoice, they just need the region to be profitable or at the very least not lose money

 

[neoprema]

So was this local quota nonsense before or after DSTV meddled in the local Netflix scene?

 

[quax]

This makes me consider hosting a VM with Plex and go back to torrenting... Also VPN...

 

[quax]

Although, Netflix could easily cut out the lower end non-English content. There is quite a lot of that.

 

[bwana]

This makes me consider hosting a VM with Plex and go back to torrenting... Also VPN...

They knew you'd say that... https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/concerns-over-south-africas-piracy-crackdown.1114646/

 

[LCBXX]

I thought a bit on this over the weekend; I'm sure Netflix is faced with kind of compliance nonsense wherever their product is available. Before this, it was the FPB who wanted Netflix to submit their shows for censorship ratings and that happened, I think, without any drama (other than the outrage drame on this forum).

I'm sure Netflix has got issues like this already handled.

 

[bwana]

I thought a bit on this over the weekend; I'm sure Netflix is faced with kind of compliance nonsense wherever their product is available. Before this, it was the FPB who wanted Netflix to submit their shows for censorship ratings and that happened, I think, without any drama (other than the outrage drame on this forum).

I'm sure Netflix has got issues like this already handled.

There are various areas that I've read about that do/will require this sort of local catalogue. Canada, where most TV seems to be made these days anyway, and Europe which is a giant market. SA is a minuscule market...

I can easily see making an example out of SA if the regulations become too onerous. Don't forget the government is already planning on charging a licensing fee on top of their local contents demands.

 

[newby_investor]

No, since they'll have less content, making it more difficult to compete.

I don't think this is necessarily true.

Having a whole library of stuff isn't necessarily an advantage. A smaller selection, carefully curated for the good stuff, can be quite a bit better.

Like I said, it would help me pick what to watch.

 

[sdrawk]

If they do, I'll have to fork out for a VPN

 

[bwana]

I don't think this is necessarily true.

Having a whole library of stuff isn't necessarily an advantage. A smaller selection, carefully curated for the good stuff, can be quite a bit better.

Like I said, it would help me pick what to watch.

And if your idea of good stuff doesn't gel with other people's idea of good stuff? Limiting the size of their catalogue doesn't benefit anyone.

 

[ISP cash cow]

Interesting timing of this, when DSTV signs a contract to be able to stream Netflix on their new decoders. What if Multichoice are planning on basically strangling Netflix out of the market by claiming that you need to stream through us as we have the 30% local content required in our whole portfolio, where as you do not have it in your own library by itself?

Anyway doesn't faze me, I have smartdnsproxy and US netflix

 

[ilikepi]

Hahaha, looks like I'm late to the thread

Love how government's solution to everything is to hamstring company's rather than build a successful and well regulated market place :-D Viva communism!

I foresee many people getting VPN's and returning to the old ways just in time for government's anti-piracy legislation to come into effect

 

[grok]

This makes me consider hosting a VM with Plex and go back to torrenting... Also VPN...

Some of us never left.

Reason is while Netflix is great, it simple does not satisfy all my cravings..

 

[newby_investor]

And if your idea of good stuff doesn't gel with other people's idea of good stuff? Limiting the size of their catalogue doesn't benefit anyone.

This is fair, obviously they would need to cater to a range of tastes.

But there's a crap-ton of low-quality stuff, and adding a lot of it to bulk out your catalogue benefits no one. Bragging about the number of titles means very little if they're all pointless.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

It's mindblowing that some don't quite get the idea or appeal behind Netflix. Choice is king, that's why people pay for it. Backwards.

Having a whole library of stuff isn't necessarily an advantage. A smaller selection, carefully curated for the good stuff, can be quite a bit better.