No Fun Allowed: HBO & Netflix Crack Down on Users
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Written By Reprise Media | February 13, 2006 | Share This
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Two stories making news today, both of them could be seen as big business trying to place restrictions on the customers who matter most. OR companies trying put a finger in the dike of revenue loss from piracy, counterfeiting and other forms of unlicensed use. You know, whichever.
First up is HBO, who recently petitioned the FCC to make its on-demand programming off limits for recording purposes. This means that users who order movies from the subscription channel will not be able to record them for viewing at a later time, although one would wonder what you’re doing ordering on-demand if you’re not looking to watch the program right there and then, anyway. Threadwatch has more on the story, including some lively eader commentary. In related news, a woman in Boca Raton is suing HBO, claiming that she’s the “real-life” Carmela Soprano and hasn’t been properly compensated for her story.
Next up is Netflix, who’s making waves with this story that claims the company is assigning its most frequent users the lowest possible priority in its shipping queue.
Here’s a clip:
“The little-known practice, called ‘throttling’ by critics, means Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service are often treated differently, depending on their rental patterns.”
The move is designed, of course, to protect Netflix’s profit margin, but could also have the side effect of preventing people like my friend - let’s just call her “Sally” - who rents the max number of movies from Netflix, then burns them to disc and returns them the same day, from getting up to even more mischief. Sally just does it “to get her money’s worth”, but I’m sure others aren’t so frugally inclined. HackingNetflix.com is a great Netflix blog that has more on the story. Check it out here.
Topics: Legal Issues |