Posts tagged netflix

Privacy concerns derail Netflix contest

Netflix, the Web’s top movie-renting service, announced Friday that it has canceled plans to hold a second contest that awards a prize to whoever could come up with the most accurate system of predicting user film choices based on their viewing histories.

» via CNET news

Netflix says ISPs could threaten Web video

“Network operators control the delivery pipes and generate significant revenue from content that travels over those pipes,” Netflix wrote to the FCC. These operators “provide both the means and motive for discriminating against new ventures that might threaten revenue sources of the network operators.”

Netflix’s comments to the FCC, first reported by The Washington Post on Monday, is a signal that the company sees a showdown coming with Comcast, Time Warner, and other broadband providers over the distribution of online video.

» via CNET news

Warner Bros props up decaying DVD market with Netflix pact

Warner Bros. has signed a new agreement that will bring the studio’s new releases to Netflix in DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming form—a month after the original DVD release. The companies announced the continuation of their partnership today, but with the added twist of the 28-day delay, clearly meant to help Warner Bros. sell more physical media in a dying market.

The fact that Warner Bros. has agreed to distribute its media through Netflix is nothing new—the company has had this partnership with Netflix for close to 10 years—but the explicit addition of a 28-day release window is new. This means that when a popular Warner Bros. movie comes out on DVD for sale at your local Target or Best Buy, you must wait another month before you can get it delivered to your door or desktop via Netflix.

» via ars technica

Is Netflix "borking" lesbians with subscriber data releases?

It was really just a matter of time before Netflix was the target of a class-action lawsuit over its privacy policies; academics have pointed out for years how the company’s release of “anonymized” movie rental data could actually be used to expose a particular user’s viewing choices. And yesterday’s Netflix lawsuit by “a lesbian who does not want her sexuality nor interests in gay and lesbian themed films broadcast to the world” covers all the usual bases.

The suit, filed in a California federal court and first noted by Wired, blasts Netflix for perpetrating “the largest voluntary privacy breach to date” when it launched the first Netflix Prize contest to create a better movie recommendation engine. The contest offered a data file with a few million movie rentals in it. Names were not attached, but within weeks researchers had found a way to use an external data source to decode an individual’s viewing history with surprising accuracy.

Despite the finding, “Netflix did not withdraw the contest data,” and further security research also failed to compel the company to stop the contest.

The lawsuit also claims that Netflix should have known in advance that there were privacy issues with its data, and it points to the AOL data mining fiasco, which took place only months before Netflix launched its own contest.

Finally, after the successful conclusion of the contest, Netflix announced its intention to go further and hold a second Netflix Prize competition. The lawsuit wants to stop any such future data release.

» via ars technica

Hayward libraries to borrow Netflix model

City libraries soon will offer a new borrowing system that borrows from Netflix, the mail-based, no-late-fee movie rental service.

For a monthly fee, library users will be able to check out a limited number of materials for an unlimited amount of time. The optional system will eliminate due dates and overdue fees, asking for money upfront in return for no worries later. Pricing would begin at $2.99 a month for up to three items out at a time.

“About 20 percent of our library users are blocked from further checkouts because of the fines they have accrued,” said acting library director Sean Reinhart, whose idea was approved by the City Council last week.

“These days, a lot of people want to do things on their own time frame. They’re busy. Returning materials can be kind of low on their priority list and they end up with fines, and stop coming.”

Seen at MercuryNews.com

Netflix data shows shifting demand down the Long Tail


  The vertical axis is percentage of total demand (with ratings used as a rough estimate of rentals), and the horizontal axis is the popularity rank of the DVD titles. Between 2000 and 2005, the Netflix selection grew from 4,500 DVDs to 18,000, and the effect on the demand of this increase in variety is shown above.


Seen at The Long Tail

Netflix data shows shifting demand down the Long Tail

The vertical axis is percentage of total demand (with ratings used as a rough estimate of rentals), and the horizontal axis is the popularity rank of the DVD titles. Between 2000 and 2005, the Netflix selection grew from 4,500 DVDs to 18,000, and the effect on the demand of this increase in variety is shown above.

Seen at The Long Tail

Netflix Awards $1 Million Prize and Starts a New Contest


  But the race was even closer than had been thought, as Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings, explained for the first time at a press conference in New York on Monday. The BellKor team presented its final submission 20 minutes before the deadline, Mr. Hastings said. Then, just before time ran out, The Ensemble made its last entry. The two were a dead tie, mathematically. But under contest rules, when there is a tie, the first team past the post wins.
  
  “That 20 minutes was worth $1 million,” Mr. Hastings said.

Netflix Awards $1 Million Prize and Starts a New Contest

But the race was even closer than had been thought, as Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings, explained for the first time at a press conference in New York on Monday. The BellKor team presented its final submission 20 minutes before the deadline, Mr. Hastings said. Then, just before time ran out, The Ensemble made its last entry. The two were a dead tie, mathematically. But under contest rules, when there is a tie, the first team past the post wins.

“That 20 minutes was worth $1 million,” Mr. Hastings said.