Latest / Best of Business / Karl Puschmann: entertainment journalist on Netflix looking into buying Letterboxd for $423m

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Karl Puschmann: entertainment journalist on Netflix looking into buying Letterboxd for $423m · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk SEDB. Follow this
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  Speaker 2: Netflix might be about to become the new owner of
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  Speaker 2: one of New Zealand's biggest tech startups. Letterboxed is a
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  Speaker 2: key we developed app social media app where you can
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  Speaker 2: log and rate your favorite movies. They're looking to sell
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  Speaker 2: in The rumor is that Netflix wants to acquire it
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  Speaker 2: for about four hundred and twenty million New Zealand dollars.
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  Speaker 2: Carl Pushman is a film and entertainment journalist and with
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  Speaker 2: us Hello Carl.
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  Speaker 3: Good evening, hither is it worth that much? Well, that
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  Speaker 3: is a lot of popcorn, We've got to got to admit.
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  Speaker 3: And I think the interest to someone like Netflix buying
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  Speaker 3: this thing is all that it's a double edged sword.
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  Speaker 3: And way there's all that juicy audience data and we
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  Speaker 3: know how big tech loves that data. And here you've
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  Speaker 3: got thirty million users all logging their preferences, what they like,
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  Speaker 3: telling them everything about films. And then also for someone
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  Speaker 3: like Netflix, a little bit of tinkering around what users
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  Speaker 3: are being served up on the whole home page could
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  Speaker 3: very much become a reality.
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  Speaker 2: Homepage of homepage of Box or Netflix, Yes.
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  Speaker 3: Of Letterbox. When you log into Letterbox, you might see
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  Speaker 3: the new Netflix film that's out that Friday, and you
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  Speaker 3: know that's That's one of the fears that the users
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  Speaker 3: have of how will this corporate influence come in on
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  Speaker 3: this site which has really built its reputation on being
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  Speaker 3: a niche social network and really that sense of community
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  Speaker 3: around and you feel like you're with film enthusiasts, you
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  Speaker 3: feel part of that club. So it's a They've got
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  Speaker 3: a very delicate balance here to keep that feeling and
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  Speaker 3: also get that return of investment that obviously, if you're
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  Speaker 3: spending what did you say, four hundred and thirty million dollars,
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  Speaker 3: you're going to want to see.
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  Speaker 1: You totally to return on that we should for you.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, if your Netflix, you already know what I like, right,
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  Speaker 2: you already see what I'm clicking on. You see what
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  Speaker 2: everybody they know what you're clicking on. They know at
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  Speaker 2: which point in the TV show we get bored and
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  Speaker 2: drop off? So why do that? Like, what is letterboxed
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  Speaker 2: giving them that they don't already have?
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  Speaker 3: Well, it is giving them a pathway into more user base,
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  Speaker 3: and it's also given a pathway to sort of get
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  Speaker 3: their material in front of people that maybe not clicking
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  Speaker 3: into Netflix, they'll find ways to integrate the two services.
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  Speaker 3: So if you're on Netflix, you can scroll straight to
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  Speaker 3: there be a boxing, go straight to your little box account,
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  Speaker 3: start log against that writing it all without leaving Netflix,
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  Speaker 3: which keeps you engaged in their system, keeps you logged on,
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  Speaker 3: and you know social I mean sorry, streaming services want
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  Speaker 3: engagement with you because then you're less likely to cancel
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  Speaker 3: your subscription. So that could be what they're looking for,
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  Speaker 3: is just another way to keep people engaged with Netflix
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  Speaker 3: rather than going off to one of their rivals.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so the whole the whole thing here is that
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  Speaker 2: you're supposed to put in your profile your four top films.
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  Speaker 2: Have you got a profile?
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  Speaker 3: By the way, I do? I do? I haven't used
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  Speaker 3: it for a little while. Very topic enthusiast. What are they? There? Existens,
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  Speaker 3: which is a David Cronenberg sci fi film, Woody Allen
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  Speaker 3: any Hall rom com, and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
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  Speaker 2: But that's only three.
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  Speaker 3: Oh and the fourth one is Swingers.
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  Speaker 4: What's what?
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  Speaker 3: John Favreau's not that kind of swing set?
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  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, it's a comedy about some lads heaving a big
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  Speaker 3: night in Vegas.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, I didn't know where to go with that. Carl was, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: this it's unexpected twist, and how this.
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  Speaker 3: Is not that it's not that kind of sight, not
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  Speaker 3: keys and the keys and.
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  Speaker 2: The bowl thing. Listen, Carl, thank you very much, man,
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  Speaker 2: look after yourself. I really appreciate you talking us through
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  Speaker 2: Carle puishment entertainment journalists. So the other thing is because
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  Speaker 2: Sam the producers really into this, right, He's into all
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  Speaker 2: the cool stuff that the young people are into. He said.
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  Speaker 2: One of the most iconic aspects of this particular site
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  Speaker 2: is that they go that obviously the fourth thing, and
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  Speaker 2: so they actually go to the red carpet and they
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  Speaker 2: ask the celebrities what their four favorite movies are, and
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  Speaker 2: then they pop that up on social media as well.
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  Speaker 2: This is Tiger Whyts.
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  Speaker 1: Spirit of the Bee Fraduate.
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  Speaker 4: It's always up there.
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  Speaker 2: Oh you know, I did Love Train Dreams and Begonia.
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  Speaker 2: And this is Sam Nils.
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  Speaker 4: The Piglebowski, which I think is a perfect film on
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  Speaker 4: every level. Targo, I like those crand brothers as a kid,
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  Speaker 4: twenty thousand leagues under the Sea with James Mason, and
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  Speaker 4: James Mason became subsequently a friend of mine. I could
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  Speaker 4: sharp for myself from a Sleeping Dogs was an important film,
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  Speaker 4: I think because it was the first film we'd made
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  Speaker 4: for twenty years or something. It was the first film
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  Speaker 4: we'd ever made in color, and I was in it,
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  Speaker 4: this cornearby that had no idea what he was doing.
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  Speaker 4: The film's always meant to Love to me.
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  Speaker 2: That is surprisingly hard to do. By the way, if
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  Speaker 2: I said to you name your your favorite four films
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  Speaker 2: right now, could you do it? Because I thought about
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  Speaker 2: it all all afternoon. They said, what were your favorite
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  Speaker 2: films that I only know? Two? Love Actually? Yes, I know.
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  Speaker 2: I'm a loser. Love Love Actually though, isn't it wonderful?
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  Speaker 2: I'm so cross with Alan Rickman and why did she
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  Speaker 2: take him back? Horrible man? And also In the Loop.
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  Speaker 2: If you haven't watched In the Loop yet, what are
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  Speaker 2: you doing with your life?
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  Speaker 3: God?
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  Speaker 2: I don't even where you could stream it from go
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  Speaker 2: and find it. But after that I couldn't find I
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  Speaker 2: don't I don't know the other two. I was just
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  Speaker 2: making stuff up after that. And I still it's been
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  Speaker 2: hours now, It's been like four hours since they asked
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  Speaker 2: me this question earlier today. I still can't figure out
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  Speaker 2: the other topic of that.
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  Speaker 1: Out I do.
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  Speaker 2: I've got the rest of my life. Don't worry about it.
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  Speaker 2: We'll sort it out.
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