@solomonrex
That's the Achilles heel of these streaming services. The instant that a fee dispute props up or a contract simply expires, thousands of titles can get removed in the blink of an eye. I also see increasing instances where competitors try to outbid one another, and try to buy exclusive access to a particular studio's library. Netflix already fired the first shot this week when they negotiated exclusive streaming rights to Dreamworks Animation titles.
For anyone looking at Netflix or Amazon streaming as a substitute for a physical movie library needs to be aware that there's no guarantee to any sort of content access at any given time. This is exactly why Netflix has starting producing their own original programs. Same strategy as HBO, Showtime, and Starz, since they all saw a long time ago that older movies and TV shows that have already come out in theaters, broadcast TV, and/or home video are not valuable properties and don't generate huge subscriber numbers.
Nowadays, HBO's biggest audience is with its original programs, which are far more lucrative to the network because it not only retains the largest number of subscribers, but the rights can be resold to other venues and HBO retains full ownership. That's where Netflix is headed, and I see a scenario where their service will cost as much or more than HBO, and the majority of their viewership comes from shows and movies that they produce themselves.
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