# I just canceled my Netflix. Here's why. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209 "2016-01-05T07:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/61 "2016-01-06T00:44:20Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > That’ll show 'em. A piece of paper counts for dramatically more than an e-mail. Remember, we’re talking about old white guys here. There is some metric in political operatives circles that compares the weight of different types of constituent communications, and a letter counts for considerably more than e-mails, phone calls or [Change.org](http://Change.org) petitions - the last of which counts for less than taking a whiz in the shower. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/62 "2016-01-06T01:03:35Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > A piece of paper counts for dramatically more than an e-mail. Remember, we’re talking about old white guys here. There is some metric in political operatives circles that compares the weight of different types of constituent communications, and a letter counts for considerably more than e-mails, phone calls or [Change.org](http://Change.org) petitions - the last of which counts for less than taking a whiz in the shower. Yeah, that metric has been floating around for a couple decades now, which should give you a hint. Also, old white guys **who revolutionize the digital entertainment market** may just have a different relationship with technology than you’re imagining. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/63 "2016-01-06T01:14:34Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’ll follow up with a paper letter to the office of Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. This was astoundingly annoying, and I’ve never seen this happen on any of the dozens of Roku apps I use on a regular basis. OK, now you’re just getting comical. Perhaps you should also _ **Alert the Media** _. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/64 "2016-01-06T01:31:22Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > OK, now you’re just getting comical. Perhaps you should also _ **Alert the Media** _. He’ll go _to the papers_, if he has to! ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/65 "2016-01-06T01:38:52Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > OK, now you’re just getting comical. Perhaps you should also _ **Alert the Media** _. I don’t think it’s comical. Maybe a little over the top, but to each his own. I’m not going to cancel my account over this, but we each make our own decisions. OK, maybe the level of upset is a little comical. Should I have felt the same way ‘back in the day’ when HBO started pimping other shows between movies? Was there ever a time that it didn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/66 "2016-01-06T01:51:35Z")
Well I did some science for you people. When I launch Netflix on my TV, blue-ray player and computer I don’t get any ads. You are welcome ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/67 "2016-01-06T02:02:18Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’ll follow up with a paper letter to the office of Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. This was astoundingly annoying, and I’ve never seen this happen on any of the dozens of Roku apps I use on a regular basis. Make sure it’s **strongly worded**. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/68 "2016-01-06T02:15:45Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > If it’s a movie, and you want to see it, they probably don’t have it. And if they do have it, you’d better watch it _right now_, because it will probably be gone at the end of the month. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/69 "2016-01-06T05:35:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > \ > And I guess **Rigamarole** has never heard of Netflix’s primary competition: piracy. Netflix gets viewers by being more convenient. But you know what pirated content never has? Fucking ads.\ I’m trying to comprehend how Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Black Bart, et alia adversely affect Netflix’s bottom line, but I’m just not groking it. However, you’re probably right about those buccaneers of yore not advertising their exploits to the general public very often. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/70 "2016-01-06T07:39:17Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > I’m trying to comprehend how Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Black Bart, et alia adversely affect Netflix’s bottom line, but I’m just not groking it. However, you’re probably right about those buccaneers of yore not advertising their exploits to the general public very often. Obviously, he’s talking about modern pirates. You know, [the Somalian kind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PEfH-6y0Sc). _We left our homes and we left our mudders To go on a pillaging spree We’ll cut off your ears and break your toes And make you drink our pee And if you sail into our waters, you best hear this decree: We’ll take your boat, set your ass afloat Somalian pirates we!_ ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/71 "2016-01-06T15:03:58Z")
Netflix dropped a bunch of shows that they had on their service which I wanted to show my fiancee. And was halfway done showing. Now there’s only one way to see those shows, and it isn’t Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/72 "2016-01-06T16:34:48Z")
I made a contribution to crime-fighting by buying a full-priced copyright set of _CSI_ DVD’s with the geographically correct region code and everything. Each disk started with several commercials that could not be bypassed. _And the commercials had to replay whenever a glitch or mode change (e.g., adjust subtitle setting?) took us back to the main menu._ :smack: (My crime-fighting days are behind me now, and I have found a way to enjoy Netflix programming for free at my remote location in an Asian jungle. If Seal Team Six wants to parachute in and take me out, our dogs don’t bite – but do wear anti-mosquito lotion.) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/73 "2016-01-06T17:23:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I made a contribution to crime-fighting by buying a full-priced copyright set of _CSI_ DVD’s with the geographically correct region code and everything. Each disk started with several commercials that could not be bypassed. _And the commercials had to replay whenever a glitch or mode change (e.g., adjust subtitle setting?) took us back to the main menu._ :smack: > [/SIZE] I don’t watch many DVDs, but a friend brought over a season of Game of Thrones recently. It did this sort of crap too. This whole thread is actually making me more sympathetic toward piracy. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/74 "2016-01-06T17:55:12Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’ll follow up with a paper letter to the office of Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. This was astoundingly annoying, and I’ve never seen this happen on any of the dozens of Roku apps I use on a regular basis. Making his administrative assistant throw a piece of paper into her recycle bin isn’t very nice, sir. ---
**Author:** ![skylyn12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@skylyn12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylyn12)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/75 "2016-01-06T20:15:12Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Hulu drives me crazy because 1) they don’t pop-up the title and blurb when you move your “cursor” over the selection\* and 2) you need eyes like a dadblam eagle\*\* to read the blurbs even when you select a program. Luckily, I don’t watch much network tv, so I don’t use Hulu very often. > > \*I’m using a Roku. I’m not sure if it’s different on a computer or other device > \*\*My vision is terrible, but I refuse to believe that 1/2 point font works for anyone other than said eagles. > > In conclusion, Netflix is awesome and I love them forever. I hate the Hulu iOS apps. They are jittery and barely work. I also don’t understand how to ‘save’ shows for later. It also seems to take hours for shows I watched to show back up in recently watched, the search is crazy bad (but seems to be the only way to get to certain things), etc. The add creep on Netflix is somewhat annoying but I’ll take it any day of the over the Hulu’s crap interface. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/76 "2016-01-06T20:18:06Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Making his administrative assistant throw a piece of paper into her recycle bin isn’t very nice, sir. And don’t forget the giant burden on the postal system and the mail-person who has to deliver the letter. I actually think this is **gaffas** secret plan to take down the government, from the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/77 "2016-01-06T20:26:03Z")
I haven’t seen ads on my netflix either. That doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, just that it appears to be a test rollout at best. And hey, if their data-scavenging is any good, and most of the people tested reacted like gaffa, they’ve found a strong correlation between ads and subscription drop and have since canceled any proposed mass rollout. At least, one hopes. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/78 "2016-01-06T21:31:23Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Netflix dropped a bunch of shows that they had on their service which I wanted to show my fiancee. And was halfway done showing. Hm, what shows did they drop? I haven’t seen that happen before. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/79 "2016-01-06T21:41:23Z")
I’m looking foreward to the next installment of this thread, when **gaffa** Pits them for sending him a form letter. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209/80 "2016-01-06T21:50:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Hm, what shows did they drop? I haven’t seen that happen before. There are a couple of websites that will show you what has just left or is leaving Netflix. [Here is one for December.](http://www.whats-on-netflix.com/leaving-soon/titles-leaving-netflix-in-december-2015/) Often, though, the lists are just the shows whose contracts end and they’ll usually get renewed with no break in access. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-canceled-my-netflix-heres-why/742209.md?page=5)