Netflix has made its share of mistakes lately in dealing with its customers, but the company's biggest problem may be that Hollywood is so jealous of its success that it's now seeking to kill off the company's service by refusing to license movies and TV shows to Netflix. This isn't a surprise. We've seen similar stories over the past year or so, but the fact is that Hollywood is so short-sighted that it's trying to hold back the tide, and in the process, causing itself more harm. Netflix isn't "the enemy." It's found a way to offer a good service that many people want and use at a price point that makes sense.

Of course, it's that part that makes Hollywood freak out. They fear the "threat" of new business models that undercut their legacy deals, and that means they want Netflix to boost prices, put even more annoying limitations on use and greatly delay and limit selection - because they stupidly think this will drive more people to the more expensive offerings from the studios themselves. They're wrong. All this does is drive more people to piracy, while killing off one of the few services that was allowed (if briefly) to effectively compete with "piracy" by offering a better overall service.

The problem for Hollywood doesn't appear to be piracy. It looks like it's Hollywood's own fear of piracy that is leading it to make really short-sighted decisions.