# Netflix hack: will you watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691 "2017-05-02T01:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/41 "2017-05-02T22:51:27Z")
I don’t watch the show, but the fact Netflix releases all episodes when the date comes makes it a lot easier to wait. I have to admit, though, if Game of Thrones or Walking Dead(or a few other shows) dropped almost all of their seasons early, it would be extremely tempting. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/42 "2017-05-03T03:08:41Z")
I’m not a big TV person. I’m even less of a serial/soap opera fan where you need to watch each episode, in order, to understand what’s going on. I don’t have Netflix. I’ve never seen the show. If I get bored one night, I might watch an episode, but from the curiosity/what’s this all about angle rather than ‘oooh, I’m getting it for free & early’ angle. > [@Horatius](#): > > Why would anyone watch it there? If you’re not a Netflix subscriber, you’re 4 seasons behind, and if you are a Netflix subscriber, you’ll get it all soon anyways. If you’re telling me I need to watch Four. Whole. Seasons. for a free episode to make sense that’s just _waaay_ to much of a commitment for an idle curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![edwardcoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cab0a1/32.png) [@edwardcoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwardcoast)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/43 "2017-05-03T21:16:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Netflix was hacked and the new season of _Orange is the New Black_ was held for ransom. Netflix refused to pay, and the eps were apparently put on line. The organization is threatening to do the same with other network shows. > > Question is: would you watch stolen shows or not? > > I won’t, as it amounts to abetting a crime and is against my personal code. You? No, because as a Netflix customer I get the benefit of their services using what I paid for. No reason to view it from some pirate. There is a HUGE bandwidth requirement to stream video content like what Netflix does to millions of subscribers, so whoever is doing this for free won’t be able to sustain it and bring usable service to viewers. Making it available via file sharing is going to be a pain to viewers also. It isn’t like the cost of Netflix is so expense to put up with the inconvenience. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/44 "2017-05-03T22:42:42Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > The more shows that get pirated from Netflix, the more people who will say, “Why should I pay for Netflix when I can get all of its shows for free anyway?”. This is true but, realistically, every show on Netflix is already pirated and you can watch all the _Bojack Horseman_ and _Stranger Things_ you want with minimal effort and some compartmentalizing of your conscience. The only reason this particular incident is news is because it was pre-release and some dinks thought they’d get paid. The reason Netflix didn’t pay probably has a lot to do with the fact that all their stuff gets pirated anyway so the people who’d watch it now are the same people who’d pirate it once it gets released anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/45 "2017-05-06T03:02:14Z")
I already pay for Netflix, and I would get the shows anyways. And in no way does watching them early hurt Netflix as I will still be paying. I’ll just get to discuss them earlier. I’m not saying I definitely would do it. For one, I don’t even watch Netflix Originals when they release, anyways. But, if I really wanted to know what happened in the next show, I would watch it and not feel bad at all. Now, if I had to somehow financially support the hackers, even via ads, I would not do it. Heck, my copy would probably not even be the original leak, but one put on some other streaming site. I will pirate anything as long as I’m not costing the creator money or helping fund illegal activity. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/46 "2017-05-06T03:10:12Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > The more shows that get pirated from Netflix, the more people who will say, “Why should I pay for Netflix when I can get all of its shows for free anyway?”. All of Netflix’s shows are available for free. Hell, back when Netflix didn’t support Linux, I would stream videos available on Netflix via other sites, while still paying for Netflix (so my parents and sister could watch on their devices.) Netflix is a great example of how, if the price is right, most people would rather pay to support the content they like. It is how you can run a business in a world that is giving your stuff away for free. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/47 "2017-05-06T03:17:56Z")
Oh. Just reread the OP and found this was real and not a hypothetical. There is no Netflix Original I am desperate to see. So I won’t do it. And this won’t make the hackers any money. All they did was draw attention to themselves. And this stupidity suggests they likely are not as anonymous as they think. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/48 "2017-05-06T03:52:21Z")
The opportunity won’t present itself, and if it does… I watch Ethics far more closely than I ever watch FX. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/49 "2017-05-06T03:56:01Z")
No. I would wait for Orange Is… since it’s Netflix’s original programming. But Netflix took away Rockford Files and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and I would for sure watch those on a pirated station. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/50 "2017-05-06T17:50:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > While I don’t support the hackers, I don’t have any love for Netflix either. Sure, they’re not breaking any laws but that’s mostly because they’re big and rich enough to get the laws written in their favor. > > To use the piracy metaphor they love so much, big entertainment distributors are like Imperial Spain complaining about how terrible it is that the pirates are stealing some of the gold that they stole from the natives. I stipulate that this sort of rent-seeking is often practiced by megacorporations. That said, what laws, specifically, are unjustly tilted in Netflix’s favor? ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691/51 "2017-05-08T00:27:38Z")
No I wouldn’t watch on my PC even if I cared to. Netflix is displayed in high def on my 65"screen with an audio system in front of my comfy couch and leather La-z-boy. Watching a pirated copy on my computer is a 21" screen in front of my office chair. I watch TV on a TV. Not much is streamed to my PC and I don’t throw streams to the TV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-hack-will-you-watch/785691.md?page=2)