Harmony Harper

 Netflix posted sharply higher third-quarter earnings Tuesday thanks to a stronger slate of titles, including “Squid Game,” the dystopian survival drama from South Korea that the company says became its biggest-ever TV show. The company has ramped up production, rebounding from pandemic-induced delays in the first half of the year. It’s also looking beyond movies and TV and said it plans to fund “new growth opportunities” such as video games, which are being tested in some markets. READ MORE: Montreal depanneur says candy featured in ‘Squid Game’ is flying off shelves “It remains very early days for this initiative and, like other content categories we’ve expanded into, we plan to try different types of games, learn from our members and improve our game library,” the company said. And as it faces saturation in the U.S. market, Netflix is focusing on growing its international subscriber numbers. For instance, it launched a free mobile plan in Kenya, in the hopes it will get more peo...

 Netflix (NFLX) is the dominant company in the on-demand media industry, with 167 million paying subscribers around the world.1 By creating compelling original programming, analyzing its user data to serve subscribers better, and above all by letting people consume content in the ways they prefer, Netflix disrupted the television industry and forced cable companies to change the way they do business. It has certainly accelerated the trend towards cord-cutting. An estimated 27% of American households planned to cancel paid cable service in 2021 (i.e., more than 35.5 million households), with this trend expected to continue into the future.23 In the long run, Netflix's success may lead to the unbundling of cable. That is, cable customers may be allowed to pick and choose channels rather than pay for a whole batch to get what they want. In the video clip below, from The New York Times-sponsored Dealbook conference in 2015, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Reed discussed the company and its u...

 Netflix, in full Netflix, Inc., media-streaming and video-rental company founded in 1997 by American entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. It is also involved in the creation of original programming. Corporate headquarters are in Los Gatos, California. In 1999 Netflix began offering an online subscription service through the Internet. Subscribers chose movie and television titles from Netflix’s Web site; the shows were then mailed to customers in the form of DVDs, along with prepaid return envelopes, from one of more than 100 distribution centres. Although customers typically rented for a flat monthly fee as many movies per month as they wished, the number of DVDs in their possession at any one time was limited according to their subscription plans. Netflix had tens of thousands of movie titles in its catalog. USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and ...

 Every holiday season, family and friends gather for festivities, which often includes watching movies. However, many scenes in popular Christmas romantic comedies are deeply problematic. From stalking to criminal harassment and outright assault, there’s some borderline, or just plain blatant, illegal behaviours in these guilty pleasure films. When film and television portray non-consensual behaviour as acceptable, it not only normalizes problematic ideas but also perpetuates rape culture. As a doctoral candidate researching sexual assault law, watching holiday romantic comedies doesn’t quite feel the same. I’m not suggesting we stop watching movies altogether, but we need to watch them differently. The next time there’s a scene that makes light of gendered violence, pause and ask: what is really being shown here? Is this really all that funny or is it minimizing actual violence? Get news that’s free, independent and based on evidence. In hopes of starting a conversation about how ...

 At least that’s how it might feel for Canadians after the global streaming platform announced last week it’s inching up the cost of its most popular subscription packages once again by a dollar or two per month. On Friday, Netflix said the price for its standard plan, which includes high-definition video and two simultaneous streams, will rise $1.50 to $16.49 per month, while the premium package, with Ultra HD access and four streams, is going up $2 to $20.99. READ MORE: Canadians will now have to pay more for standard, premium Netflix plans The basic plan with standard definition video remains unchanged at $9.99. While Netflix isn’t the only streaming giant to hike prices, it’s done so the most frequently, which leads London, Ont.-based analyst Carmi Levy to wonder if the company is testing how much more it can charge. He says he expects Netflix to continue pushing up its price “bit-by-bit” to see “how much resistance consumers have to price increases.” Netflix last raised its Ca...

  Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney and Amazon are “the new big players” and should contribute more to Canadian culture. In a debate in the House of Commons about a bill to regulate online streaming, Rodriguez says updating the broadcasting law is long overdue and needs to cover commercial content on social media and streaming platforms. He says the last time the law was updated in 1991, people took out videos from Blockbuster and listened to Walkmans. READ MORE: Toronto Black Film Festival celebrates 10th year with stellar lineup Rodriguez says he wants to see the creation of more Canadian programs to promote homegrown talent, such as CBC’s “Schitt’s Creek” and “Anne with an E,” which also streamed on Netflix. But he says he is flexible about how streaming platforms contribute to Canadian culture, and they could use different models including putting money in a fund. The minister says he has “fixed” concerns raised by critics of a p...

 Next month, an auction at Mike Hall’s famous “field of dreams” will likely attract a sizable crowd. But when buyers come, he won’t be celebrating. Not much, anyway. For decades, the host of the highly popular Rust Valley Restorers TV series has tended to his now 550-strong collection of cars in Tappen, B.C., returning some to operating condition and simply keeping others for posterity’s sake. On Oct. 2, he expects all but 20 will be sold off at the auction that will be taped live for the show, which is in its fourth season. Click to play video: 'Rust Valley Restorers return old wrecks to their former glory' 5:13 Rust Valley Restorers return old wrecks to their former glory Rust Valley Restorers return old wrecks to their former glory – Dec 3, 2018 “It’s going to be 40 years of my life that vanishes in one day. It’s like I’m Mother Hen and all the chicks take off at once,” Hall said. Hall decided to bid adieu to the car collection that not only turned heads, but also gained him...