Didn't they give $40 million to Gervais for just one stand up show?
Streaming Services Page 2
Rumour has it.
Essentially it's recruitment exercise - think of it as an advertising budget.
A big tentpole movie can have an ad budget of $100 million.
Tentpole?
Huge blockbusters that REALLY need to make their money back.
Usually with tons of merchandising surrounding it.
Literally has to (financially) hold the studio up - hence tentpole.
Quote: Chappers @ 24th March 2021, 5:52 PMPS - that doesn't include Aaron who has to pay it to do this website.
(Is that where some of our donations goes?)
No! Not a penny has been spent on any such service.
Quote: EllieS @ 25th March 2021, 12:49 PMI'd like to know how they 'divvy up' series... I don't get how one site can have some episodes of something and not the rest. Netflix ued to have Knowing Me Knowing You and I'm Alan Partridge, but now the former has disappeared and seems to be nowhere. They also have series 1 of Motherland, but where on earth is the second? Not on iplayer. And I remember for a while they had series 2 and 3 of Gavin and Stacey but not the first... What?! Don't you have to buy a whole series or none of it at all?
There's really no logic to much of it. As Lazzard says, it's quite complex and there are multiple factors at play. It would make a lot more sense if series were licensed on an 'all or nothing' basis but that hasn't really happened much to date. I suspect things will go a little further down that route as different producers/broadcasters tie in with one preferred (or proprietary) service, but many licenses are in the region of 5 year terms so it could be a wait to see.
No one has mentioned Apple TV+ yet I don't think, and rightly so.
As for BritBox, my opinion now is the same as it was a year ago: a great idea but really lacking at present.
Their technology needs quite a bit of work - lots of things that are partially in place and would only need small tweaks to finish and/or extend functionality across all platforms - but the content is the biggest let down at the moment. Essentially anything you'd actually put value on having access to, you probably already own on DVD, or is being regularly repeated on TV.
They're fast filling huge gaps after launching with lots of seemingly random specials rather than complete collections of various key series, and new additions are generally complete collections; but they really need to exploit the archives at their disposal in much more depth.
For any service like this to ultimately prosper long term, it seems obvious to me that they should build their customer base on a reliable core of telly/archive nerds who'll pay for access to swathes of obscurities and ephemera that would never be financially viable to release on DVD. I'm talking everything from L For Lester to the complete Parkinson archive. Once they get further down this path they'll have my attention.
As to the original implicit question as to service recommendation, I'd recommend Sky without hesitation. Not really a streaming service but at the moment probably all the better for it.
Quote: Aaron @ 27th March 2021, 12:33 AMFor any service like this to ultimately prosper long term, it seems obvious to me that they should build their customer base on a reliable core of telly/archive nerds who'll pay for access to swathes of obscurities and ephemera that would never be financially viable to release on DVD. I'm talking everything from L For Lester to the complete Parkinson archive. Once they get further down this path they'll have my attention.
That's exactly how I feel - the Parkinson programmes for one are a gold mine archive. They have shown an odd one or two in full over the years, so I don't understand what the problem or hitch is in not showing them all.
Very frustrating.
I never had all of them all at once, but may be alternatively at some point, in the past few years. But at any time, I at least have 2 streaming services running. Currently, I have Disney Plus and Apple TV plus. I think Apple TV plus, although have a very small library compared to other giants, but they have very interesting contents nonetheless
I've had them all at some point but I'm currently using other people's Netflix and Disney+.
It's obviously nice having access to all these shows and films but I don't half spend most of the time just looking through the menus. I really can't stand it. It makes me long for the days of only a few channels and being "forced" to watch something I might otherwise might not have normally watched and then actually end up enjoying it.
I also believe something like Netflix needs to start writing into their contracts that if they axe a show, it must get a "final episode". But isn't it just silly having a platform where the original content may stay there for many years but knowing full well it never comes to a conclusion. Really puts me off investing time in new series.
Starting to think about this again.
I note Lazzard suggests Netflix. What do they provide?
I think if you're going to have one - and your interests are broad - then I think Netflix is the choice
A lot of good drama series, some of it international - but with their adjustable subtitle system (or dubbing if your bonkers) these are really accessible - and there's some fantastic stuff to be found outside English language.
Good for comedy specials.
Comedy series - though not extensive , but some good stuff.
A ton of films.
Also a shedload of quality documentaries.
Zero sport (apart from documentaries).
If you asked me to keep one, it would be Netflix
You can search for things you like, or things you've heard you might like, on something like https://www.justwatch.com/uk to see which service seems to have the most for you.
Netflix is probably a good starter, though it has been systematically asset-stripped of a lot of its back catalogue over the last few years as everyone else has got into the streaming game and they've thrown a hell of a lot of cash around commissioning hundreds of original hours of content, most of which is decidedly hit-or-miss. It's a hell of a lot harder to find the quality stuff these days. I've given up on whatever Netflix's documentary-of-the-week happens to be, because I know it'll either be twenty minutes of really interesting content stretched over six hour-long episodes, or just a really cheap cash-in about someone finding a pencil that they think once belonged to Jeffrey Dahmer, but actually might not have belonged to him after all.
Amazon Prime has the worst interface ever, and the constant way they throw 'paid for' content not included in the Prime package at you is maddening. But the library of 'Prime' films/shows is probably close to Netflix by now, plus you get free next day delivery for any piece of tat your heart could desire off the Amazon site itself as part of it.
I've not bothered with Disney+ yet. It seems to be entirely Marvel and Star Wars movies, or spin-off TV shows from Marvel and Star Wars movies, from what I can tell. Paramount+ seems to be the same, but with Star Trek.
iPlayer's a no-brainer. You're already paying for that.
Apple TV+ has produced some low-key great stuff over the last year or so, but there's not really enough content there yet to justify it as your sole streaming service if you're just going for one.
Not even sure if Britbox is still a thing in the UK? I thought it had slowly separated back out into its constituent parts. Like a bottle of milk left in a window.
Also, bear in mind that most if not all of these things have free trial months available, so if you can't find anything worth watching on it, you can cancel it before it starts costing you anything. 
Just flicking around and trying to see what's on I've found that I can watch NOWTV. I hate to think how long I must've been paying for it and not using it. Watching Funny Woman.