House of Cards (Netflix)

[J.T.B.]

I got an email today telling me episodes were available. Pretty effective advertising strategy if you ask me.

Also, it's been all over my disc envelopes for at least a month.

 

[RoJoHen]

Doesn't really help people who don't get the discs. I'm just saying, if you're going to be targeting this at the streaming audience, it might be a good idea to make it better known to them.

Or maybe that's the point. They don't care about the current streaming audience; they're trying to get more people to subscribe.

 

[bigdaddy]

Or maybe that's the point. They don't care about the current streaming audience; they're trying to get more people to subscribe.

Bingo.

I have seen huge banners on tvline.com and deadline.com, so it's not like the ads aren't around.

 

[sidious618]

I just watched the first episode tonight. It's a blast.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Maybe down to the fact they only do streaming in the UK but I've had a lot of advertising for it. Email from them, facebook posts, banner on the website, trailer listed on the Xbox app very clearly for a week or so then in my recently watched list since then.

Though I've noticed that they reckon my rating for it will be nearly a full 5 stars. Maybe they're going hard with advertising to people they predict will enjoy it then have them spread word of mouth?

 

[RoJoHen]

Or maybe that's the point. They don't care about the current streaming audience; they're trying to get more people to subscribe.

Bingo.

I have seen huge banners on tvline.com and deadline.com, so it's not like the ads aren't around.

I just got an email from Netflix today about the show, but I did notice yesterday that there was an ad on the side of my Facebook page running all day long.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Doesn't really help people who don't get the discs. I'm just saying, if you're going to be targeting this at the streaming audience, it might be a good idea to make it better known to them.

Or maybe that's the point. They don't care about the current streaming audience; they're trying to get more people to subscribe.

Yeah that's my hunch, they're going to judge it by number of new subscriptions, fair enough. And I do get disks too, but I never notice what they're advertising. As for email, I loathe getting any kind of ads that way so I never give out my real email address.

They definitely are going after the Hollywood influencers. Deadline.com was awash in ads over the last couple days.

But they shouldn't need to depend on such indirect methods of reaching their existing customers when they could just add the show to everyone's "recommended" list or create a new special promotional area that is reserved only for their own original shows. That should be virtually zero cost to them, so why not do it as a matter of course?

Maybe they're afraid of the reaction of movie/TV producers whose stuff wouldn't get equal promotion. Keeping good relations with content producers is absolutely vital to their business.

I watched the first episode, it was pretty good. I can't say the premise grabs me - why should I care that some DC dickwad didn't get the job he wanted? But Kevin Spacey is so good, he's worth watching on his own. I also appreciate he didn't make the mistake of channeling Foghorn Leghorn with his South Carolina accent.

But I stopped with the first episode. It's not really a binge viewing type show. Something like 24 or Prison Break, a fast-paced thriller, would be more the binge viewing thing. Also some genre series, especially horror,

Though I've noticed that they reckon my rating for it will be nearly a full 5 stars.

I don't think they're cheating with their star ratings, they only predicted four stars for me (I'd say that's about right.) To start lying with the star ratings would be a big mistake, undermining their credibility and angering partners whose shows and movies aren't getting "star inflation."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I've been trying to ferret out any inkling of how the show did last nite. Nothing so far, but here's an interesting article:

The company will measure this and its other originals a success if a large percentage of subscribers watch entire seasons, Hastings said. Research also will reveal whether non- members hear about the original programming and are more likely to subscribe, he said.

“What they’re really doing is going, ‘What are the genetics of the shows, the types of shows that people want to use our platform to watch,’” said Richard Greenfield, co-head of fundamental equity with BTIG LLC in New York.

Psst, Netflix: test a space opera series next.

Why Netflix is keeping its numbers to itself (at least for now):

But for now, at least, Netflix is refusing to play the all-American numbers game. In a letter to investors a few weeks ago, company CEO Reed Hastings dropped a pretty big hint about why, and it boils down to this: At least in the near-term, data on how many people stream House of Cards right after it goes up is meaningless. "Linear channels must aggregate a large audience at a given time of day and hope the show programmed will actually attract enough viewers despite this constraint," Hastings wrote. "With Netflix, members can enjoy a show anytime, and over time, we can effectively put the right show in front of members based on their viewing habits … For linear TV, the fixed number of prime-time slots mean that only shows that hit it big and fast survive ... In contrast, Internet TV is an environment where smaller or quirkier shows can prosper because they can find a big enough audience over time. In baseball terms, linear TV only scores with home runs. We score with home runs, too, but also with singles, doubles, and triples." It's not that Netflix doesn't care about how many people watch its original shows; it does, very much so. It just can happen over a much longer period of time. “If they like [a show] they watch more,” Netflix programming chief Ted Sarandos told the The Hollywood Reporter last year. “If they watch more, they will value the service more.” What separates Netflix from ABC or even AMC is that it truly doesn't care if that engagement takes place tomorrow night at ten or six months from now when you come down with a cold and decide to spend the day watching Kevin Spacey sneer at people.

I'm sure that at some point, if the numbers are good, Netflix will crow about it. But part of what they're learning is, what does good mean in this context? There will be a life cycle to a show like HoC, but whether it peaks in one week, one month or one year, nobody knows. And the type of show may have a big influence on that life cycle, so maybe they'll wait till they also have an original comedy and an original horror series to compare with.

 

[RoJoHen]

I almost wonder if it would be worth it for Netflix to offer the pilots of these shows free to people who aren't subscribed to their streaming service. If they have access to the first episode, they can watch it and see if it's worth signing up to see the rest.

 

[PsychoPere]

Apparently Netflix is doing exactly that throughout February.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah, that first episode free ad was all over the place the last few days. I want them to do that with Star Trek or any space opera series, I think it would be a wild success assuming the series is any good.

HoC is doing great on social media.

Netflix Inc.'s strategy of simultaneously releasing all 13 episodes of its new political drama "House of Cards" is generating social media buzz -- with well over 10,000 mentions since the show's debut just after midnight Friday.

"House of Cards" is sparking thousands of mentions every hour, according to analysis by social media research firm Fizziology. About 62% of the remarks are positive, with negative conversation virtually non-existent.

On the internet? isn't that against the law???

"Many in the social conversation around 'House of Cards' are giving progress reports of where they are in the series, like 'I just finished Episode 1,' " Carlson said. "A loud and influential voice in the social space may well lead others to watch in a specific window of time."

Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey stars in "House of Cards" as House Majority Whip Francis Underwood, a snubbed politician bent on revenge. He appears in about 15% of the online discussions.

"People often describe [Spacey] as 'brilliant' and are excited to see him in a Washington role," Carlson said. "However, Spacey takes a backseat to Netflix, which is the real star of the series in social media conversations."

Netflix is mentioned in 38% of online discussions about the series. One in six have taken on the role of advocates, encouraging friends and followers to watch "House of Cards," even after watching just the first episode.

Google searches related to "House of Cards" also have surged in the week leading up to the Feb. 1 series debut.

If this experiment is as successful as it sounds, everyone is going to start copying it, to the extent they can. What I've read about Amazon's original content just isn't up to the same level. They need prestige productions to cut through the clutter.

 

[Harvey]

My girlfriend and I have watched the first five episodes since yesterday. It's fantastic. Netflix is smart, too -- they have the original British series available, too. Might get to that next.

 

[PsychoPere]

I added the British miniseries to my queue a couple months back with the intention of watching it shortly before the release of this series, but never actually got around to it. Now that I've watched six episodes already, I'm definitely going to give the original a chance when I'm done with this season.

For what it's worth, Harvey, this version's creator endorses your thought.

 

[InklingStar]

I am watching it right now, and am in episode 3. I like being able to go straight to the next episode, it makes it feel more like a coherent story, even a movie.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Watched the first two last night.
Enjoyed it. Can't wait to see the next... oh, I don't have to wait? I heart you Netflix.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Finished it about an hour ago. I have to say I'm left somewhat dissatisfied. It was good but it was 3 times longer than the original mini-series and felt like so much was added it lost something. Felt like it got distracted from telling the main story for the sake of being 13 episodes. Saying that I would watch season 2.

 

[firehawk12]

I dunno, it feels like there's a clear arc being established for the 26 episodes. It's hard to tell without the other half of the series of course, but I don't really feel that any of the 13 episodes were unnecessary.

 

[InklingStar]

I just finished the first season. I liked it, and hope the second half can maintain the drama. I could definitely tell which episodes were filler, but I do not feel it detracted from the story.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I'm up to episode 7, but if Franks plan is to take over the presidency, he is woffling on a bit.

I heard a name early on.

I think it was about pollstering.

Gwendolyn Pierce

Is it possible that House of Cards and Charles in Charge are occupying the same imaginary universe?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Good article on the economics of original series on Netflix.

Can't read this thread yet, still only saw the first ep. I guess I'm not much of a binger.