Karl Puschmann: entertainment journalist on Netflix looking into buying Letterboxd for $423m

Netflix is in talks to buy the New Zealand-founded Letterboxd for $423 million, according to new reports.

Letterboxd was created by Auckland designers Matthew Buchanan and Karl von Randow, and it allows people to create profiles and log and rate their favourite movies.

Entertainment journalist Karl Puschmann says Letterboxd has a reputation as a niche social network, and there's concerns about what a corporate takeover could do for it.

"That sense of community around it, you feel like you're with film enthusiasts, you feel part of that club - they've got a delicate balance here to keep that feeling and also get that return on investment."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now Netflix might be about to become the new owner
of one of New Zealand's biggest tech startups. Letterboxed is
a key we developed app social media app where you
can log and rate your favorite movies. They're looking to
sell in The rumor is that Netflix wants to acquire
it for about four hundred and twenty million New Zealand dollars.
Carl Pushman is a film and entertainment journalist and with us, Hello, Carl.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good evening, hither is it worth that much?

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Well, that is a lot of popcorn, We're going to
got to admit. And I think the interest to someone
like Netflix buying this thing is all that it's a
double edged sword in way, there's all that juicy audience
data and we know how big tech loves that data.
And here you've got thirty million users all logging their preferences,
what they like, telling them everything about films. And then

(00:45):
also for someone like Netflix, a little bit of tinkering
around what users are being served up on the homepage
could very much become a reality.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Homepage of what homepage of Nata box or Netflix?

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yes, of Letterbox. When you log into letterbox, you might
see the new Netflix film that's out that Friday, and
you know that's that's one of the fears that the
users have of how will this corporate influence come in
on this site which has really built its reputation on
being a niche social network and really that sense of
community around and you feel like you're with film enthusiasts,

(01:19):
you feel part of that club. So it's a They've
got a very delicate balance here to keep that feeling
and also get that return of investment that obviously, if
you're spending what did you say, four hundred and thirty
million dollars, you want to see you totally want to
see return on that WI should for you.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
I mean, if your Netflix, you already know what I like, right,
you already see what I'm clicking on. You see what
everybody they know what you're clicking on. They know at
which point in the TV show we get bored and
drop off.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
So why do that?

Speaker 4 (01:44):
Like?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
What is letterboxed giving them that they don't already have, Well,
it is.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Giving them a pathway into more user base, and it's
also given a pathway to sort of get their material
in front of people that maybe not clicking into Netflix.
They'll find ways to integrate the two services. So if
you're on Netflix, you can scroll straight to you there
be a box you can go straight to your littleox account,
start loggainst that writing it all without leaving Netflix, which

(02:12):
keeps you engaged in their system, keeps you logged on
and you know social I mean sorry, streaming services want
engagement with you because then you're less likely to cancel
your subscription. So that could be what they're looking for,
is just another way to keep people engaged with Netflix
rather than going off to one of their rivals.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, so the whole the whole thing here is that
you're supposed to put in like your profile, your four
top films.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Have you got a profile?

Speaker 3 (02:39):
By the way, I do? I do? I haven't used
it for a little while. Very topic, what are they there? Existence,
which is a David Cronenberg sci fi film, Woody Allen's
Annie Hall rom com and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
But that's only three.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Oh, the fourth one is Swinger is What's what? John
Favrou's not that kind of swing set.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Oh Okay, it's a comedy.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
About some lads having a big night in Vegas.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Okay, I didn't know where to go with that. Carl, Okay,
this is unexpected twist, and how this.

Speaker 3 (03:14):
Is not that it's not that kind of sight, not
keys in the.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Keys and the bowl thing. Listen, Carl, thank you very much.
Ben look after yourself.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
I really appreciate you talking us through carle plishment entertainment journalists.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
So the other thing is because Sam the producers really into.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
This, right, He's into all the cool stuff that the
young people are into.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
He said.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
One of the most iconic aspects of this particular site
is that they go that obviously the four thing, and
so they actually go to the red carpet and they
ask the celebrities what their four favorite movies are, and
then they pop that up on social media as well.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
This is Tiger Whyts Spirit of the Bee.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
I've fraduate it's always up there.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Oh you know, I did love Train Dreams and Bagonia.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
And this is Sam Nil's The pickle.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Bowski, which I think is a perfect film on every level. Targo,
I like those crand brothers as a kid, Twenty Thousand
Leagues under the Sea with James Mason, and James Mason
became subsequently a friend of mine. I could sharp for
myself from a Sleeping Dogs was an important film, I
think because it was the first film we'd made for
twenty years or something. It was the first film we'd
ever made in color, and I was in it, this

(04:19):
cornearby that had no idea what he was doing. The
film's always meant to love to me.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
That is surprisingly hard to do.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
By the way, If I said to you name your
your favorite four films right now, could you do it?
Because I thought about it all all afternoon. They said,
what were your favorite films that I only know?

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Two? Love Actually? Yes, I know, I'm a loser. Love
Love Actually, though, isn't it wonderful?

Speaker 1 (04:41):
I'm so cross with Alan Rickman and why did she
take him back?

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Horrible man?

Speaker 1 (04:47):
And also in the Loop. If you haven't watched it
in the Loop yet, what are you doing with your life?

Speaker 4 (04:51):
Go?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
I don't even know where you could stream it from.
Go and find it.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
But but after that I couldn't find I don't I
don't know the other two. I was just making stuff
up after that. And I still it's been hours now,
it's been like four hours since they asked me this
question earlier today. I still can't figure out the other
topic of the mat I do.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
I've got the rest of my life. Don't worry about it.
We'll sort it out.

Speaker 4 (05:08):
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