Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video

To call Mark Cuban eccentric would be akin to describing the ocean as wet, but what's not so often acknowledged about the Dallas Mavericks owner is the sharp mind and commercial nous that have gotten him to the position of hiring and firing millionaire ball players. One of Mark's recent blog posts, entitled "The future of TV ... is TV," got the attention of NewTeeVee, who sought to debunk his contention that VOD (video on demand) services from cable operators would become the primary means by which we consume digital media in the future. They cite the growing success story of Netflix's digital distribution model, as well as the 12 million hours of March Madness video consumed via CBS' web portal, in arguing that web streaming is indeed the great new hotness.

Mark's response tackles Netflix head on, and points out that the company's rapid growth is about to start working against it, with movie studios and other content providers likely to jack up prices and demand further concessions from the streaming service as it turns into a real competitor to cable companies. According to him, Netflix is presently getting its content at prices that are unsustainable, and his prognostication is that content owners seeking bigger levies -- together with the expansion of VOD choice, which he sees as foolproof compared to the overwhelming complexity that web streaming entails -- will lead to Netflix passing costs on to the consumers and losing out to cable operators. Irrespective of whether you agree with him, the whole exchange is well worth a read. Use the links below to get filled in.

[Aomizuchi Posted May 8th 2010 11:50AM]

"To call Mark Cuban eccentric would be akin to describing the ocean as wet" Haha!

For all the good shows I want to watch on cable I would have to pay a fortune to see them. (Dexter,LOST (in HD) Weeds, etc.)
The future IS Netflix and I don't see it going anywhere for a long time. This is just a stupid rant. Netflix is already in almost every New TV and has been for the past couple of years.

Oh, did I mention Netflix sent me 4 vouchers in the mail yesterday? 4 of my family or friends can receive movies or watch instantly for 1 month for free. What cable company does that?

[Salvo Posted May 8th 2010 11:09PM]

I would rather pay more and get the content I want when I want it. The cable company I have in my town is terrible. They won't even allow you to use a TIVO because their cable boxes "don't support it" this is not true they use the same boxes as many other large cable providers, but choose to lock it down.

This is the major problem with cable operators, instead of giving you choices they force you buy what they want.

All I can say is that I hope NETFLIX prevails.

[Starcade Posted May 9th 2010 12:00AM]

He's merely stating the obvious. Direct digital download of content is the future. At some point studios will realize they can cut out the middle man and make more profits offering content directly. It's not just Netflix that is probably affected. iTunes. Comcast. They can all be bypassed.

Eventually all content (movies, TV, music, games, and applications) will be in the cloud, and we'll have access to the content, rather than own the content. Envision something along the lines of a subscription model.

[ajkader Posted May 9th 2010 3:13AM]

Mobile TV? Maybe? Jim Nantz says yes. http://blog.itag.com/20/you-shut-your-mouth-when-jim-nantz-is-talking/