Today we are going to deal with a very controversial topic that comes up whenever we publish a new post talking about Netflix and its removals: Why does Netflix remove things from the catalogue?
Can you imagine how cool it would be if the company just put new things like movies and series and never took anything away? You would discover a title through a recommendation from a friend or here on our website and months later, when you went to watch it, it would be there waiting for you. However, it often happens that the title has already been removed =(
And the unanswered question: Why?
The answer is only one:
contracts x money
It works as follows: When we ask Netflix for a title, they go to the studio that owns the rights and ask how much they want to make that product available and for how many months. Then the negotiations begin: the period granted is extended, the price for showing the same title in more than 1 country where Netflix is present is quoted, etc.
An agreement is reached and Netflix starts to make the content available. We announce it here at Oficina in our weekly updates posts; everyone celebrates; do you watch; indicates to another friend who also watches; indicates to someone who doesn’t have Netflix; this person gets excited; subscribe to Netflix to watch that title and Netflix starts making money with new subscriptions; when the contract period for this title is running out, Netflix crosses several variables to see if this series is profitable and deserves to be renewed for another period, or not. Well, if everything goes well, as we mentioned in this paragraph and if a successful scenario is configured, the company contacts the studio and new negotiations begin so that the exhibition period is extended.
The price that the studio will charge for the title depends a lot on its production cost, critical and fan success, audience measured by television, actors and actresses, awards, etc. In this way, something that has been very successful, raised millions of fans and won Emmys, for example, will be expensive, after all, a heavy name in the catalog will certainly attract more subscribers to the streaming service. And therein lies the danger: The series needs to “pay for itself” to remain available.
Aaah, and don’t forget to check out our Netflix special with all the releases and takedowns.
positive scenario
This is the case of Dr. House, for example. House MD is one of the most successful series of all time on world television. It had 8 seasons, 177 episodes, and won several awards, including 2 Golden Globes. Each season averaged 15 million viewers per episode (original airtime alone and US only), some even being watched by over 20 million. Because of that, the series shouldn’t be cheap at all.
Proof of this is that Dr. House was marked as “at the end of his contract” and his removal date was announced in September, October and November 2015 (twice in the last month, on the 1st and the 15th). The good news is that through our list, which rocked on Facebook and generated collective indignation, after thousands of complaints the series was renewed for another period that Netflix does not disclose, and, at least for the time being, it does not appear as a possible removal. coming soon. But of course the scenario can change from the moment people stop watching the doctor scolding everyone and she starts to do damage…
negative scenario
But what if the series doesn’t do so well after being signed by Netflix?
Let’s say Title X was signed and very few people watched it. That investment didn’t return a profit in subscribers, nor did it generate a feeling of “wow, my money is being very well spent on Netflix” in users. So why keep revamping and revamping and revamping something nobody watches? Isn’t it better to take that money and invest it in something that you and the other users will give 5 stars? And that’s what Netflix tries to do.
Of course, there will always be someone who will be watching a series and who will be very upset when, out of the blue, they are caught with the news that it will be removed. But rest assured that removals are also part of “what’s best for the most” and, truth be told, inclusions always trump content deletions.
Other factors
Of course, sometimes a takedown isn’t Netflix’s “fault”. When? When a studio refuses to continue assigning the rights to a series, for example. This can happen for several reasons: because it is more advantageous to sell the rights to a competitor, like Hulu, for example; for creating your own Streaming service like HBO GO etc.
In these cases, we can only buy the series box, really.
In short: Netflix has x reais and needs to please as many users as possible with that amount. To do so, it makes a relationship between the cost of a title and the benefit of users who watch it. For more explanations see their official explanation (click on the gear for subtitles in Portuguese):
What to do to reverse a content deletion
Didn’t you like that your favorite series came out? Then complain about it/but calm down, you don’t need to go to court or to Reclame Aqui (yes, there are people who do that). Netflix is known for having a differentiated service with its customers and listening to all the suggestions of titles that come to them. There are many reports of happy users who, shortly after contacting them, had their request answered.
The same goes for removals and Dr. House is the best example. When the news that it would be removed went viral, so many people were talking about it that the company was forced to renew the rights to broadcast the series.
The link to keep in touch with Netflix is this one, from 12:00 to 23:00. See the chat I had with them and see how the service is different:
Own series
And finally, some good news that you may not have been aware of: Netflix original series such as Daredevil, Beats of No Nation, Jessica Jones, House of Cards, etc. they won’t go out of print, after all, they’re already paid and don’t depend on a contract with anyone :p
