In the beginning, NXE brought forth the greatest upgrade known to (lazy) man, Netflix through my 360.

Soon after there was Sony, who tooketh away their films.

Then there was redemption when the movies (most) were brought back online.

Now, there is random movies gone missing or going to expire soon (see image below).

Now you may wonder “Why the hell so many documentaries?” or “The Dewey cox Story… really!?“… but if you gander the right side of that image you will see that some of my queue will be going away soon. Also seen is the “Walk Hard” movie has been taken off the Watch Instantly list completely, more than likely a casualty of the whole original Sony/Netflix debacle.

The others though, thanks to CNET, we now have a very easy explanation that really sucks for those of us supporting this digital age of downloading:

Typically, a feature film is first released in theaters, then on DVD, followed by pay-per-view channels and finally on broadcast TV.

So where does Netflix (and even iTunes) fit into the above equation? Well I wish I had an answer for you, but without the movie companies being upfront with this information, it comes down to not enough people seem to be speaking with their wallets in comparison to what TV broadcasters offer the companies. This would explain why there is such a large amount of tv sitcoms/dramas offered through online distribution services, as TV has already profited from the shows.

How can this problem be fixed? I guess the saying “all in due time” would really apply here. With Xbox Live getting crazy numbers in growth post-NXE release, I have no doubts more people are being turned on to Netflix. I know it is anecdotal evidence, but three people I know IRL with 360’s are new and happy Netflix subscribers, as well as just a gander at my friends list at any given time tends to have at least one person watching a movie or tv show.

Also add to this that Netflix seems to be invading TiVo and standalone HD players. I think the next big move would just need to come from the company itself with some more press releases boasting their huge userbase, hopefully convincing any naysayers (both consumers and the movie companies) to jump aboard.

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