Much has already been said of Netflix‘s handling (some say bungling) of its recent announcement to split its DVD and streaming businesses. Time will tell whether segmenting its audience will lead to faster adoption and growth of its online offerings. My own account is on hiatus while I decide whether I want or need a Qwikster envelope arriving in my mailbox every few days. For streaming titles, Hulu and Amazon are more than adequate, although, between my son and I, we’ll have to see who blinks first from Yo Gabba Gabba deprivation.)
One angle explored in this Marketplace story from Steven Henn describes the restrictions of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and how the business split may allow Netflix a safe(r) harbor to release its Facebook app to users registered in the US. Blockbuster got kneecapped by the law back in 2007 with the launch of its MovieClique app on Facebook. Since then, DVD purveyors have steered clear of the sharing features on Facebook.
Online social viewing platforms may yet become the new multiplex, courtesy of Netflix and Facebook. Clearly, the thought of competitors (like Hulu) claiming that prize pushed Netflix Chief Reid Hastings to move aggressively on initiatives with Facebook and probably the Qwikster split as well. Will movie consumption follow the music model and evolve largely free of privacy concerns? Will Facebook’s sharing features and popularity evolve to a degree where regulation seems quaint and outdated? Something tells me the VPPA’s role will wax, not wane. Certainly, the same privacy concerns that led to the VPPA are still with us, albeit tempered by the active oversharers Facebook so eagerly cultivates. The future of movie watching and discovery on the social graph is still largely unwritten and I would be surprised if lawmakers released their hold on its future.
Related articles
- Netflix’s Launch of Qwikster: A Good Reminder for Developing Effective Messaging (communiquepr.com)
- Netflix Plan to Spin off DVD Business as ‘Qwikster’ Sparks Furious Backlash (techland.time.com)
- Facebook, Netflix Push Congress on Social Integration, Video Privacy (fastcompany.com)