Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Netflix Addiction


Nicolette Illiano

Think back, if you can, to a weekend when you were younger. If you were having a sleepover with your friends or spending a night in with your family the “must-have” was a rented movie from Blockbuster. The word itself brings back so many memories. In today’s technologically advanced society it’s hard to even think about going to a store to rent a movie anymore. We have so many different options to watch both movies and television shows through the Internet. One of the most popular streaming sites is Netflix, which I’m sure you’re all familiar with.


Contrary to popular belief the company wasn’t always based on Internet streaming and wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today. In his article “The History of Netflix and the Future of Television,” Ilan Mochari discusses how Netflix began. Back in 2000 Netflix was an unprofitable 3-year-old company with 300,000 subscribers. For one flat rate per month Netflix users would access the company website and select a movie (or movies) that they wanted to rent. The DVD would be shipped out from one of the companies DVD warehouses and arrive to the customer the next day. There were no late fees and Netflix paid for postage both ways. While this sounds like a great deal the company was no competition for Blockbusters 7,700 stores, so Netflix CEO Reed Hastings “offered to sell a fourty-nine-percent stake and take the name Blockbuster.com,” basically offering to be Blockbuster’s online service. Blockbuster declined, which was probably one of the biggest mistakes the company made considering they went out of business in the fall of 2013. One month before Blockbuster’s “white-flag” announcement, Netflix had 31 million U.S subscribers.

Now, the Netflix that I just described is probably not the Netflix we’re used to, or even the one we use today. However, the company does still offer this feature as a separate plan from their unlimited Internet streaming. Most of us use Netflix for online streaming of our favorite movies or TV shows, which is a feature that was brought to the company in 2008. For $7.99 a month a Netflix subscriber is given access to unlimited streaming of over 75,000 titles. And the great thing about it? You can stream anywhere, any time on over 200 different devices including game consoles, mobile devices, and Apple TV and Google TV. I repeat: you can watch countless movies or TV shows whenever you want to. While this is probably one of the greatest things to ever happen, it’s also one of the most dangerous. Why? Because Netflix users tend to spend hours on end binge-viewing a TV series or several movies. In his article on Gizmodo, Brian Moylan refers to this as “Netflix Streaming Syndrome.” He humorously describes a few of the symptoms of this “disease” including, “Insomnia brought on by watching every episode of a compelling series in a row at the expense of getting a good night's sleep. Anti-social behavior as a result of staying in and making it a "Netflix night" rather than going out in public and seeing other human beings. Blackouts induced by spending an entire day watching movies back-to-back,” and goes on by saying, “With Netflix's streaming plan, your very humanity is in jeopardy.” As funny as these statements may be, they are extremely accurate. As I sit here and write this blog post it’s taking all of my might to not “take a break” and watch an episode, or two, or three of the series I recently started. We all have those days where we say “just one more episode” before we start an assignment or go to the gym. Five episodes later we decide to go to sleep instead.

As if having multiple seasons of popular shows and thousands of movies wasn’t enough, Netflix has recently begun releasing their own original series’. Some of these include Bad Samaritans, The Ropes, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards (which was just confirmed for a third season with season 2 being released on Feb 14th). These shows are only available on Netflix and, surprise, all episodes of the season are released at the same time. More binge-viewing anyone?



But these are the things that keep the company so popular. According to Eriq Gardner and the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix’s stock rose 296 percent in the year of 2013 making it the second best performing U.S stock. The company spends about $2.7 billion on content, but has made a profit of about $32 million in the last quarter. Mochari’s article ends with the prediction that by 2016, “half of all television will be delivered via the internet,” and that “Netflix can grow to 90 million U.S subscribers, almost triple its current amount.” With numbers like these and an instant gratification society like ours, I don’t see Netflix going anywhere but up in the future. 

Works Cited
Gardner, Eriq. “Netflix Gets Wall Streets Silver Medal in 2013.” The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

Mochari, Ilan. “The History of Netflix and the Future of Television.” Inc.com. 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

Moylan, Brian. “Do You Suffer from Netflix Streaming Syndrome?” Gizmodo.com. 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.


11 comments:

  1. Nicole, you bring up some great points in this blog post. I remember all too well having to make weekend trips to Blockbuster or the local video store to rent a movie for the night. I also remember misplacing the video and having to deal with the wrath of my parents as the late charges racked up so much we might as well just buy the DVD. As you pointed out, this was extremely inconvenient and there needed to be an alternative way to rent movies. My brother was the first in my family to begin ordering videos from Netflix and turned me on to it instantly. How could you not favor using their service as opposed to a brick and mortar store? They found a problem and proposed a solution that is genius. They have also been able to adapt to wants of consumers expertly, forgetting about their one hiccup in attempting to split the company. They gravely exposed the weakness in Blockbusters command on the market. Netflix was planning for the future while Blockbuster was worrying about the present. Had Blockbuster accepted Reid Hastings offer, the company would undoubtedly still be around today and have a complete monopoly on the market.

    My father works on Wall Street and he has told me that investors are astonished with the growth of Netflix stock. An increase in 296 percent is nearly impossible for dotcom companies to achieve. And yet they have done so in a way that has set them up for success for years to come. Spending $2.7 billion on content means they are investing in a greater wealth of content to consume, as well the creation of their own content such as "House of Cards" (Gardner). They have done all this and still managed to turn a profit of $32 million. I honestly think Netflix will reach 90 million domestic subscribers before 2016, and will produce an even greater profit then investors forecast. In the next five years I believe people will stop paying for a cable service and rely entirely on the Internet to consume media. The major cable companies will have to adapt or be left behind before they know it.

    I can attest to what you mentioned about the Gizmodo article; since the release of season two of "House of Cards," I have barely seen the light of day...

    However, as streaming has become ever more popular recently, there will certainly still be a market for live TV of some sort. The "Breaking Bad" series finale drew 10.3 million viewers, a huge increase from the season before. I was an avid viewer of the show and there is no way I could have time-shifted or streamed the last episode at a later date. If I wished to do so, I would have had to keep of social media until I watched it, which would have been impossible. But going off of the point I made earlier about no longer paying for a cable service, companies will have to figure out a way to bring live viewing to the internet. A network such as AMC could announce that the next "Walking Dead" episode will be able to be streamed online for the course of one day, before being taken down until a later date. This may not be the best solution, but it brings light to an issue that needs to be confronted.

    I also agree with the last line of your blog post; there is no way Netflix goes anywhere but up as we become ever more reliant on instant gratification as a nation.

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  3. Works Cited

    De Moraes, Lisa. "Broadcasters Ambushed By Hysteria Around ‘Breaking Bad’ Finale." Deadline. 30 Sept. 2013. Web.

    Gardner, Eriq. “Netflix Gets Wall Streets Silver Medal in 2013.” The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

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  4. It’s nice to see Netflix rise to the top the way it has done, especially since I pride myself on being one of its subscribers. I recently upgraded to streaming videos/ TV shows on four TVs at once and when they sent me an email on Dec. 27th to say that my subscription would go up to $11.99, I didn’t mind. You see at home we all use the same Netflix account and by the end of last year, it was impossible to have all four of us streaming at the same time and so that email was a Christmas gift to my “Netflix-addicted” family. It’s also interesting to note that the Gardner article was written days after I got the email from Netflix about my increased subscription. (I probably was one of the first to get charged!) I was never one to rent movies or DVDs from rental stores and iTunes made movies available for rent for a short period of time, so Netflix serves as my best option, currently.
    To have Netflix’s stock surge to almost 300% is an indication that it’s not going anywhere in a hurry (Gardner) Unfortunately, Netflix still has some work to do with regards to its foreign subscriptions. Netflix does not grant users from other countries access to some of the shows that we watch here in the U.S. Last summer, I couldn’t watch “Scandal” from London. I was trying to get my “Scandal-fix”, by binge viewing older seasons of the show, but I was not fortunate enough to gain access. Instead I was able to watch shows like “Luther” and I wondered if Netflix was trying to appeal to a certain TV audience based on location, hence its choices. Who knows maybe Idris Elba is much more popular than Tony Goldwyn, in that area. In my opinion being selective about which country viewers have access to certain shows could ultimately affect its foreign subscriptions. Even though “Netflix spends some $2.7 billion on content,” (Gardner) improving what subscribers have access to from all locations could be key to staying necessary in the coming years. That being said, having its own original series is another good way of staying necessary and creating a unique viewership that the major TV stations don’t have.
    It was nice to see you bring up Brian Moylan’s article on the “Netflix Streaming Syndrome.” I had never really thought about it, but I could identify with some of the symptoms: “Blackouts induced by spending an entire day watching movies back-to-back”, “Anti-social behavior as a result of staying in and making it a "Netflix night" rather than going out in public and seeing other human beings.” (Moylan) Yes, that’s me for sure. It is also sad to note that some of these symptoms started showing up at the onset of cellular phones, which came with text messaging and MMS picture sharing, before apps took over. In hindsight not gaining access to “Scandal” abroad was good because I got to spend quality time with family, which has become such a luxury with our over-indulgence in media-related activities these days.

    -Weruche George

    Work cited

    Gardner, Eriq. “Netflix Gets Wall Streets Silver Medal in 2013.” The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

    Moylan, Brian. “Do You Suffer from Netflix Streaming Syndrome?” Gizmodo.com. 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Feb. 2014



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  6. I remember the days when I would go on trips with my family every Saturday to visit Blockbuster and see hundreds of movies. I was overwhelmed by the amount of movies I could choose from and excited to see the new releases. My parents were always reluctant to drive to Blockbuster. To my parents thought Blockbuster was inconvenient and expensive to rent movies and even more expensive if we returned movies late. When my family switched to Netflix, the ways we watched television and movies changed. No longer was watching a movie a family event. My family didn’t have to decide on one movie to watch together, we all had laptops and could order our movies off of Netflix and watch on our laptops. My parents were satisfied because they no longer had to drive everyone to Blockbuster, nor were they hassled with late fees. Netflix has a plethora of movies to choose from, and they are easy to browse. Netflix reinvented the ways people watch television and movies. A person no longer needs to follow a series while it is airing on television, instead you can binge-watch television on Netflix instantly. I agree with Nicolette, when she says Blockbuster’s biggest mistake was not buying Netflix when they had the opportunity.

    In the Buzzfeed video, “12 Surprising Facts About Netflix” which was mentioned in the blog post, the show Breaking Bad is said to be the most popular show watched on Netflix. Many people who did not follow the series on television are time-shifting and watching the series on Netflix. According to the article “Broadcasters Ambushed By Hysteria Around ‘Breaking Bad’ Finale”, 10.3 million people watched the Breaking Bad season finale live (De Moraes). After the finale, I saw many tweets and Facebook posts about the series. After seeing these posts and hearing about the plot of the series, I decided to watch the entire series on Netflix. There were many people who heard the buzz about Breaking Bad either through the media, word-of-mouth, or social media, and they were encouraged to binge-watch the show on Netflix.

    I think Netflix should pair up with the Nielsen ratings, because Netflix would be able to provide Nielson with the number of people who are binge-watching shows after they have been aired. Nielson already knows the number of people who watched television live and the number of people who DVR television, the next step is to know the number of people who are watching series online via Netflix. The Nielsen ratings should obtain data from Netflix, because according to the Buzzfeed video, “12 Surprising Facts About Netflix”, Netflix is watched more than any cable network in the United States. Also, according to Eriq Gardner, Netflix is the second best performing stock in the United States. People are watching and investing their money into Netflix. Netflix is continuing to change the television industry by creating original series released onto the site. Netflix original series, such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, The Ropes, etc. are becoming increasingly popular among Netflix users, and according to Gardner, Netflix earned $32 million last quarter. Netflix is changing the dynamic between internet and television, and television will need to adapt to the coming changes.

    BuzzFeed Video. “12 Surprising Facts About Netflix.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

    De Moraes, Lisa. "Broadcasters Ambushed By Hysteria Around ‘Breaking Bad’ Finale." Deadline. 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

    Gardner, Eriq. “Netflix Gets Wall Streets Silver Medal in 2013.” The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

    - Emily Barry

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  7. I find many things that you pointed out very interesting, Nicolette. I never knew that Netflix was only a small company before it became one of the largest movie and television show streaming platforms in the United States. I also found it very surprising that Netflix attempted to become an online blockbuster site. I think it was in Netflix's best interest that blockbuster declined because it would be unlikely that they would be as successful as they are today. Also like you mentioned Nicolette, it was definitely not a smart move by Blockbuster being that they recently went out of business.
    After reading Brian Moylan’s symptoms that can classify someone as having “Netflix Streaming Syndrome,” I would definitely diagnose myself with this “disease.” Since we have been had numerous snow days this spring semester, I have had even more time to feed my Netflix addiction. Once I find a television series that I can’t stop watching, it seems like I find myself putting Netflix on every moment I have free. Sons of Anarchy was the first series that turned me onto Netflix, I watched 4 series in the matter of a month on my laptop. Than when seasons 5 came out I watched the season premiere live on TV and found myself not as fond of it because of the commercials and not being able to watch episode after episode on end. I was so used to binge watching the series that I ended up not watching it live and waiting for it to come on Netflix. I still haven’t watched season 6 of sons because it hasn’t been added to Netflix yet.
    Once I found out that Apple TV existed this opened up a whole other opportunity for the world of TV and movie streaming. I found myself not ever watching live TV, or cable because my television was always tuned into Netflix. Apple TV made it easier for me to watch Netflix with friends; instead of having all of us crowd around a small computer screen. My friends and I began to watch television series and movies together right on our big TV in our living room, instead of having to run to Redbox so we could pop something in the DVD player. In the article Netflix Gets Wall Street’s Silver Medal in 2013 by Eriq Gardner, it states “The company's stock surged 296 percent this past year, which, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal, made Netflix the second best performing U.S. stock. The only thing more popular in the equities market than binging on videos of House of Cards and Arrested Development was electric cars.” This shows how big of a take off Netflix has recently taken, and other technologies are helping the popularity, like I already stated, Apple TV. Another thing that I believe has recently contributed to the success of Netflix, are the television series that are aired only exclusively on Netflix. I have heard about and seen on twitter buzz about House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. These are series that people only with Netflix accounts can watch, and the buzz definitely promotes the already booming Netflix Company.

    Work Cited:

    -Neal, Ryan W. "Netflix Originals Coming In 2014: 7 Seasons Of Exclusive TV Shows Premiering This Year." International Business Times. IBT Media Inc., 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

    -Gardner, Eriq. "Netflix Gets Wall Street's Silver Medal in 2013." The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web.

    -Moylan, Brian. “Do You Suffer from Netflix Streaming Syndrome?” Gizmodo.com. 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

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  8. My name is Brianna Mello, and I’m a Netflix Streaming addict. While Netflix may not jeopardize your health in the way that smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol can, it is certainly an addiction. As Nicolette mentioned in her blog, this addiction has been known to bring on insomnia and social alienation. I wonder how long it will be before we see BuzzFeed articles about how to break your addiction to this online streaming powerhouse. What is most surprising to me is that customers are willing to pay in order to further their habit, one taste of the free month’s trail and they’re hooked. In this world where consumers will do just about anything to get a service for free, Netflix stands out as one of the few companies that have thrived by enforcing its monthly rate. It had the second highest stock performance in 2013, beat only by the innovative car company Tesla (Gardner 1).
    Tim Malloy wrote an article in The Wrap and stated “gone are the days that broadcast networks bet the house on shows by debuting them at the start of the season”. I can’t help but wonder if it is our society’s addiction to binge watching and Netflix that has caused this fundamental change in the established TV structure. The traditional form of mass releasing new shows all in the same month makes it nearly impossible to keep up with the variety of shows that you are interested in. Netflix takes away some of the pressure we feel to watch shows as they air. Even if we don’t have a DVR, that show will most likely be available on Netflix within the year, and if we’re not watching it in real time then what is the harm in waiting a few more months to see it. Our viewing is now on our terms and is done when it is most convenient for us as consumers. Our lives are no longer dictated by the TV schedule and network television executives are discovering that they need to switch things up in order to regain our viewership. Debuting new seasons during the previously sanctioned “midseason” has proven to be successful for some shows. For example, “The Voice” has become the most popular singing competition on TV and it originally aired in April of 2011 (Malloy 1). Another way network executives are trying to shake things up is by shortening the number of episodes in a show’s season. Fox’s new show “The Following” only had 15 episodes and was one of the few new shows that did well this year. It seems that the more unconventional the timing of the show, the better. It keeps viewers on their toes and creates a sense of excitement around the program that doesn’t exist with the typical 24-episode standard. But Netflix has been shaking things up too. Their original show “House of Cards” has been a huge success, and the new season just went live on February 14th. The most unique thing about the show is not that it is a Netflix original, but that all of the episodes for the seasons are released at once. Giving consumers the ultimate binge-watching experience. Not only can they watch episodes back to back but also they are brand new, which eliminates the risk of season spoilers. It is an entirely new format, which has no doubt contributed to the “House of Cards” success and the widespread obsession with Netflix streaming.

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    1. The most addicting thing about Netflix is how convenient it is. For $7.99 a month customers can watch as many movies and shows as they want, on whatever devices they have at their disposal. The ease with which customers can use Netflix gives them a false sense of security that they are controlling their viewing. But when you are staying up far too late just to cram in one more episode, or not leaving your couch all weekend due to binge-watching an entire series, it begs to question of who is really controlling whom? The human or the machine? Regardless of whether or not you’ve admitted it to yourself, if you are guilty of any of these actions then you are addicted to Netflix streaming. There is no shame in this fact. I myself am addicted, but the more honest we are with ourselves, the better. After all its Netflix’s world and we’re just living in it.

      Works Cited

      - Gardner, Eriq. "Netflix Gets Wall Street's Silver Medal in 2013." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

      - Malloy, Tim. "Battered Networks Blow Up Traditional TV Schedule to Take on Cable,Streaming Rivals." The Wrap. N.p., 14 May 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

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  9. Our society is certainly one full of media junkies. We spend most of our daily lives soaking up various media outlets whether it is social media, news sources, or most importantly, the latest series. As mentioned in class before, we are a society obsessed with instant gratification. Considering these two factors, it only makes sense that Netflix is so wildly popular. Even when Netflix was a service that only allowed customers to have one disc at a time, this was still more satisfying than watching whatever reruns happened to be airing on television at the time. Having the ability for instant streaming has only intensified consumers’ love for Netflix.
    As stated in Eriq Gardner’s Netflix Gets Wall Street’s Silver Medal in 2013, “The company’s stock surged 296 percent this past year, which according to a review by The Wall Street Journal, made Netflix the second best performing U.S. stock,” (Gardner). Although many of this has to do with the fact that Netflix is able to meet the needs of those looking for hours and hours of programming to consume, this rise in success can also be attributed to Netflix original series. For instance, the release of season four of Arrested Development was a huge success for Netflix. Six years after Fox cancelled the show, Netflix picked up the series to air a fourth and final season. Although the show was awarded high praise by critics, while it aired on Fox it failed to amass a substantial audience. Once the first three seasons were released on DVD and word of mouth spread about the show, it was too late for a cable networks to reap the benefits. However, it was the perfect opportunity for Netflix. Tim Malloy states in his article, “Never before has so much high-quality, original programming been available to viewers whenever they want it,” (Malloy). One of the biggest attractions Netflix has, as Nicolette mentioned, is it gives viewers the opportunity to binge watch like never before. By releasing entire series at once, Netflix is feeding directly into the thirst viewers have for instant gratification.
    The other huge benefit of Netflix is being able to catch up to shows that you may have missed. If there is a popular show still airing new episodes that you had not watched from the start, Netflix provides you the opportunity to get caught up and join the masses that are already watching. For instance, I was able to do exactly this with Breaking Bad. I had only been convinced to watch the show when it was already in its fifth season. Finally deciding to jump on the bandwagon, I binge watched all of the episodes that were streaming on Netflix and I caught up. Most recently, I did the same with Scandal and now I am anxiously awaiting its return to ABC. I believe there is a strong possibility that if Arrested Development had been airing on Fox when Netflix provided instant streaming that the show may not have had to be cancelled as early as it was.


    Works Cited
    Malloy. Tim. "Battered Networks Blow Up Traditional TV Schedule to Take on Cable,
    Streaming Rivals." The Wrap. 14 May 2013. Web.
    Gardner, Eriq. "Netflix Gets Wall Street's Silver Medal in 2013." The Hollywood
    Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web.

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  10. Katryn Flynn

    Ah, Netflix. While sometimes it is truly great to be able to stream a movie or TV show to pass the time during a snow day, it isn’t so great being engulfed in the vortex that is unlimited streaming.

    There have been countless times that I have caught my roommate binge watching shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Office, and Charmed instead of doing the mounds of homework she had. And like Nicolette cited from Brian Moylan, rather than getting a good night’s sleep my roommate would stay up to catch up on homework instead. Of course I’m not saying I’ve never binge watched anything. Last semester I watched all of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black in about four days, and just last month I watched all four seasons of FX’s Archer.

    However, the most enjoyable binge watch I’ve ever experienced was that of Breaking Bad. Never in my life had I ever heard so many people ranting and raving about one particular show at a single time. In fact, because of the hysteria built around the show, I predicted that Breaking Bad would win hands down the Emmy for Best Drama. And as the Deadline article states, that’s exactly what the show did. I also started binge watching it in the hopes that I would be able to catch the final episode along with the 10.3 million others (De Moraes).

    Because Breaking Bad was and is such a phenomenon in terms of TV, it’s not surprising that it was last on Nielsen’s list of the top 10 time-shifted viewed shows for two reasons (Neilsen). One reason was the fact that everyone wanted to watch the show. Over the course of its first four seasons, the show got so much hype from critics and fans alike. Therefore, it was rewarding to watch the new episodes live if only for the next-day’s water cooler conversations. Secondly, because so many people watched the show and became so invested in its plots and characters, it was important to stay up-to-date with it whether they could watch it live or not, hence the time-shift viewing.

    Now as for Netflix taking the “Silver Medal” in the eyes of both Wall Street and The Hollywood Reporter, I can’t say that I am surprised (Gardner). My family has subscribed to Netflix for quite a few years now, and we love it. Sure, we got rid of the DVD rental portion of our subscription, but we upped our streaming capabilities. Between myself, my mom, and my brother, the three of us use the services quite often. Also, as we discussed last week, Netflix tailors our watching experiences individually by suggesting shows and movies based on our viewing habits. Personally, I believe this has been an improvement on the side of Netflix and has probably served as a method of keeping their current customers happy and enticing new ones to come along.

    “Nielsen Tops of 2013: TV & Social Media.” Nielsen.com. 17 Dec. 2013. Web.
    Gardner, Eriq. "Netflix Gets Wall Street's Silver Medal in 2013." The Hollywood Reporter. 30 Dec. 2013. Web.
    De Moraes, Lisa. "Broadcasters Ambushed By Hysteria Around ‘Breaking Bad’ Finale." Deadline. 30 Sept. 2013. Web.

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