OT: Netflix rate increase
Today, I received this email from Netflix regarding a significant rate increase:
Dear ________,
We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into two separate plans to better reflect the costs of each. Now our members have a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan, or both.
Your current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:
Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming) for $7.99 a month
Your price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). You don't need to do anything to continue your memberships for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.
These prices will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.
You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.
We realize you have many choices for home entertainment, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-357-1516.
–The Netflix Team
A nearly 60% increase, WTF?!
I'm sure most people stream instead of get dvd's but not all titles are available for streaming.
Are any of you guys going to switch to one of the new plans or pay the increase for both?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/netflix-price-subscription-pla…
they posted this on their blog and left the comments on, but capped them at 5000. it's a bloodbath in there with probably 90% or better canceling before the price hike.
Used to be able to justify the 2 dvd plan pretty easily given value relative to renting movies / theater / alternatives. Now, since I don't use it that month, another 50% premium doesn't seem merited, nor does DVD-only or online-only appeal to my needs.
Tempted to drop it for a while just to see if/how it matters. Seems too easy to cling to something like Netflix when you probably wouldn't even realize if it was gone and now would save $200-$300/yr.
I am just going to get the streaming only and if I want something new use Redbox or use Amazon to get them. Most of my recent use has been streaming Top Gear anyway so no big loss.
I am just going to get the streaming only and if I want something new use Redbox or use Amazon to get them. Most of my recent use has been streaming Top Gear anyway so no big loss.
I was on the fence about netflix due to the poor streaming selection and the regression in quality of the ipad app.
I love Netflix. I have an ipad, iphone, and laptop. I can watch movies and tv shows on all three. My only issue is the lack of new releases.
If someone comes along and offers Netflix's catelogue with new releases, with availability on the ipad and laptop, at a reasonable price, I'll drop Netflix. But until that happens I'm staying.
its the fact that you cant stream new movies. I'm staying with netflix but I will get rid of the mail in dvd and just wait for the movie to stream. I use the streaming soooo much more for their docs more than anything else.
I will cancel because of this. $5/month is enough to make me cancel when that is 50% of the original cost. It's an extra $60/year which isn't a ton but could be spent elsewhere.
I wasn't even sure if it was worth $10/month, so this is an easy decision for me. I liked the streaming a lot at first until I ran out of shows to watch due to the limited selection. I can use Redbox for DVDs and it will be cheaper. As stated before, the streaming selection isn't great.
If the price was one cent, and it went up to three cents, would you cancel because of the 300% rate increase? Triple A is right. $5 is the right way to look at it rather than getting outraged over the percentage.
..I actually just cancelled my Netflix subsciption this month, it was a big part of household and got us hooked on many TV (past) shows....and thats about the only thing Netflix is good at, their streaming selection is just terrible for how much they push it.
If you want us to go streaming so bad then make a plan where you pay even more of a premium to be able to watch the new releases via streaming, while old classics such as Dumb and Dumber are good it gets pretty annoying sifting through Trex Vs. Crocasourus Part 2 just to find something decent.
It was enough for me to cancel. I was getting 3DVDs/Blu rays per month + streaming and my subscription went through the roof. I was only member to get new release blu rays and catch up on tv shows (Curb your enthusiasm). I would switch to streaming only if the selection didn't suck major donkey balls. I don't go to the movies a lot so I depended on netflix for new release dvds.
I will most likely join amazon prime or get an appletv for itunes.
That's a load of crap because so many more options are available via Mail..but yet there are times I want to watch re-runs of TV Shows or something so I can watch online...I don't want to be shelling out that much more to have both available.
Up the availability of those livestream and maybe I'll consider keeping netflix.
I love the Netflix instatnt stream, but I was quite enraged when I heard this. If I decide to keep it I will go with stream only option.
I guess they have to somehow fund their venture into expanding Netflix into Latin America. It seems that this model with the increased costs is not as sustainable as I thought.
I'm cancelling as well. I don't really use it enough right now to make it worth my while. I can't imagine paying MORE for it.
The streaming library is really not very good....
Their selection is not good????????? Where else can you watch the Human Centipede???????
<br>
<br>/s still refuse to watch that movie.
I'm a dinosaur and just get dvds...
So my 3 dvds at a time plan just dropped by about $4 a month now that I can drop the streaming service.
I can tell you that some of what's been said is absolutely accurate. Netflix is getting murdered by the studios right now on the one side (which means higher licensing fees) and also getting pressure from the broadband side (like Comcast who is also a content provider, threatening to limit bandwidth or slow down speeds when Netflix is used). You see a lot of changes going on right now with windows for both theatrical and video on demand, and the content providers (whether studio, tv network, etc.) want more of the pie.
Couple all that with the fact that everything is moving toward streaming, and you have a breakdown of their model. While they realize this and have moved incrementally towards streaming, their ability to secure premium content is become more difficult by the day. At the very least, they cannot get such content on exclusive terms (to prevent Google-Youtube, or Amazon, or anyone else from also buying such content), or with premium windows when people most want them.
HBO Go is actually the wave of the future--you're going to see individual networks and studios controlling their content more and more and streaming it directly, and companies like Netflix will be left to get the last bite of the apple, if there's any apple left.
Disagree completely on the point of HBOgo being the future. Its a delivery system of such limited scope that its window of success is very small. It comes free with an HBO subscription, how long do you think the studios are going to let that go on for? HBO gets to stream THEIR movies without paying anything more then their current cable deal. Once deals come up for reneg with HBO the studios are going to DEMAND atleast comparable deals that they have with Netflix or Amazon and HBO won't be able to come close to being able to afford those prices with their userbase being so much smaller then Netflix's.
If Netflix ever gets toppled as the giant of this medium, it'll be by an Amazon or a similar content carrier.
and they have instituded a hard bandwidth cap. If you stream, that eats up bandwidth pretty fast. So if you have regular DSL, Neflix streaming is going to take a hit.
Stinks, but to be expected. Just not by such a large amount. Hopefully this does spur them to be able to secure better deals. I dont believe everything in that article because its the same stuff thats been said since Netflixs' rise. Almost all of Netflixs' contracts have been 1-2 years since the companies launch of streaming anyways, so there really is no "impending" doom with that, it's business as usual really. Will the studios ask for more? Of course, but they won't ask for too much since 1. they make alot of money selling DVD's to netflix which even with streaming taking off is still a HUGE part of their business and 2. Netflix has such a huge lead in user base if they want their content out there, DVD or streaming, Netflix remains the best delivery system, by far.
Comcast, Blockbuster (the store near me went out of business), and now Netflix, I feel like are or have all ripped me off. How can TV and movies really be that expensive? You can rent movies from Family VIdeo for like $2 per movie! Too bad there isn't one in AA. I guess I'll be left to renting from Redbox...
I have to pick up the DVD I have on hold at the library.
Netflix will have to negotiate much less favorable deals with the studios next time around, which is coming up. Plus Netflix is almost certainly trying to get more customers on streaming (and improve that service) and get away from DVDs. They probably assume they'll lose a lot of DVD subscribers which will allow them to cut the costs associated with that service somewhat to a lot and move to an eventual pure streaming service.
Those complaining about the selection: I've seen rumors a couple places that it's going to get a lot better soon. These being rumblings from the business perspective not fanboy stuff.
Finally, people who are actually offended by this: that's kind of amusing.
sounds like a ripoff but it's still only $16 per month for unlimited movies. Is there anything else out there that comes close to competing with that?
I don't work for or own Netflix stock.
From a business perspective…millions of people still use the DVD plans (last I heard over 10 million) and average about 5 movies a month. Let’s use a million people…88 cents postage a movie * 5 movies…4.4 million dollars saved a month per million DVD users in postage alone.
Netflix wants to cut the DVD business in half in the next year or so…bring the DVD users down to around 5 million…this will save Netflix almost 300 million a year in postage alone. This hurts the post office more than Netflix. Those people who still want DVDs will pay less a month for their new release DVDs than going on a date to the movie theaters.
That additional 300 million+ a year will be used for licensing more video from broadcasters and to help offset the higher streaming costs…Netflix is positioning itself well IMO.
service and streaming quite often. Just watched the Walking Dead on Blu Ray. I pay 23.99 a month already so this won't really make a difference to me. Like all of you said though, they could use a better streaming selection. I use it to watch a lot of older shows, but I would like to watch some new ones too.
I will look for an alternative to Netflix until the effective change date. If I decide to stay, I will cut back to just streaming. I wonder can you alternate between plans easily...since they are the same price? I have all kinds of movies and documentaries in the queue but never seem to have anything that I am ready to watch...the strangest thing known to man how that can happen!
I keep hearing people say that Netflix is trying to cut out alot of their dvd customers with this new pricing? How is that exactly?
The costs for dvd only customers just went down. I know it may not be the norm among those on a message board... But I know alot of Netflix users "IRL" and the vast majority stream movies as an afterthought if at all.
I know alot of dvd-only/mostly customers who are now upping there plan because of what ammounts to a price drop for them (us).
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Is this thread being spammed? Or were those two posts just random?