Already reeling from the weekend’s news regarding Moffat’s step down, Chibnall’s succession and the delay of Series 10 until Spring of 2017, American Whovians were dealt yet another unexpected blow — the loss of Doctor Who content (both “classic” and post-2005) from the major streaming services Hulu and Netflix.
Both. At once. Until further notice.
In a supplemental reaction cast, Jay and Keir look at the repercussions of this change on accessibility to the program for one of the largest and rapidly growing viewer segments, and what impact this may have upon trying to cultivate any new viewers over the next year or beyond.
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Lads,
Just listening to the breaking news cast. I wholeheartedly agree with your feelings, not having ready access to the Doctor is terrible. Obviously I have no additional insight beyond what you shared, but a couple of things occur to me.
1. As Jay noted, we know January is when every year the contract comes up for renegotiation
2. The contract locks Netflix in for one year
3. BBC is developing a player that is not yet ready
4. The purpose of the player (assumption) is to provide a virtual paid BBC channel to the world
5. The BBC had to decide whether to pull their content or wait another year until the Player was ready
Some executive on the Britflx program either got his ass handed to him or this is part of their larger strategy: Slowly pull all BBC content back, create an appetite then release the new player with a bang.
Either way I agree they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. If this is a paid app? They are going to be in for a shock. If this becomes the equivalent of a Hulu, ABC or Disney app then I can almost understand the approach.
Far be it for me to say, and I know this opinion will be unpopular, but if people are as passionate as they think about the series, they’d buy the DVDs. I’ve lost count of how many people say they’re super passionate about the show, yet they don’t want the commentaries, documentaries, and other material on the discs. They just want to consume the show like an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord, apparently. I’m not saying that can’t be construed as a kind of fandom, but I don’t equate it with being really, really, *really* into the show. It’s like being a fan of food, but only wanting to eat at Sizzler, rather than a really good restaurant. Again, an unpopular view? I have no doubt. But it’s mine and I’m sticking to it. Love the show, boys.