Netflix and Streaming Video is the first book to provide a comprehensive foundation for understanding the business of subscriber-funded streaming video and its implications for the role of these services in culture. Drawing on Lotz's two decades of research, the book highlights the similarities and differences among streaming video services (Netflix; Amazon) and video distribution technologies (broadcast; satellite; internet). Making a number of provocative and thought-provoking arguments, the book first reveals how the reliance on subscriber payment and video on demand produce different norms and strategies compared to previous video businesses. It then investigates Netflix and how its blend of characteristics distinguishes it from other subscriber-funded video on demand services. This book expertly shows that by understanding the underlying economic and technological dynamics of these services (and their differences), it is possible to better assess the actions taken by these companies and what the future of video may encompass.
This book is a must-read for students and scholars of Media and Communications Studies as well as those wishing to learn more about Netflix and streaming video services.
Reviews
‘In the chaotic world of television, Amanda Lotz has a keen ability to separate noise from signal. Here she drills into the factors and functions that make subscription streaming services distinctive from one another and put Netflix in a class of its own. This is a must-read for students of and professionals in the TV industry.’ Evan Shapiro, Producer, Media Cartographer, and Professor at Fordham University and NYU
‘Amanda Lotz is unparalleled at addressing our most vital questions regarding the global streaming video landscape. With Netflix and Streaming Video, Lotz has also introduced a blog-incubated mode of academic query as essential, iterative, asynchronous, and disruptive as the industries she studies.’ David Craig, USC Annenberg
