Netflix to raise price to stream

[Morbach]

Beat........

 

[BuffyGirl]

We have decided to cancel streaming and just get two dvd's at a time. We haven't turned on our streaming in over a month. It just doesn't have much we enjoy. We realize there's lot of other people, just not for us. So, as cool as it is, we wont miss it.

 

[Mercer]

I might drop my dvds but keep streaming. Over the past year I've watched a lot of stuff online. At first I was getting dvd's in the mail all the time, now I hardly bother. And new releases always say "very long-wait" or "long-wait" even if I have it the queue when the movie comes out in theaters. I might as well just buy new releases on blue-ray if I really want to see it. About the time they have it ready to mail to me it's already on instant anyway. Watching online is the future. I'll take the price increase, because it's better than cable, but you gotta remember this service was free for the $4.99 a month plan. I can see the next price hike now, Netflix plus "See new movies as soon as the come out on DVD!"

 

[Matt S]

I think come Feb, I am just gonna do Hulu plus

 

[BuffyGirl]

Just an article update from yahoo, today.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/Price-Hike-Sends-Netflixs-nytimes-985924951.html?x=0&.v=1

In wake of new prices that force some customers to pay more, greater numbers of people are canceling their Netflix subscriptions than the company expected.

The company on Thursday morning revised downward, incrementally, its subscriber estimates for the quarter of the year that ends in two weeks. It did not change its financial guidance for the quarter. Still, its stock dropped almost 15 percent in heavy trading when the market opened Thursday.

The revision reflects the negative reaction to Netflix's decision, announced in July, to separate its DVD-by-mail service from its faster-growing Internet streaming service. Before, DVD-by-mail was a $2 add-on for some streaming subscribers; now, each service now costs $8.

Some subscribers were upset by what was effectively a price hike, and a subset of them have cancelled their Netflix accounts.

In July, the company said it expected that it would end the third quarter with 22 million subscribers to the streaming service, 12 million of whom would also opt for the DVD-by-mail service. It expected back then that 3 million would opt only for the DVD service.

Now, it's expecting that just 2.2 million will opt only for DVDs, a drop of 800,000.

Netflix also anticipates a slight drop in streaming subscribers, to 21.8 million, a difference of 200,000 from the earlier estimate. It still expects 12 million of those streaming subscribers to also pay for DVD-by-mail, helping it to generate more revenue overall.

"Despite the guidance revision, we remain convinced that the splitting of our services was the right long-term strategic choice," the company wrote in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.

Earlier this summer, Netflix's chief executive, Reed Hastings, said he recognized that "we have to face those subscribers who are upset by the price hike this quarter."

He said then that the price change would benefit Netflix in the fourth quarter and beyond, and that the company intended to spend the increased revenue on its streaming service, partly on research and development. "As our subscriber base continues to grow, we're able to spend more on improving that service, both on the R.& D. side and on the content availability side," he said.

 

[CollectorNC]

I'm glad they are taking a hit. Their condescending financial officer a month or so ago said something along the lines of "I know this will cost us business." Brilliant statement. Now I have more expensive streaming and half the time it stutters. Anyone else have a stutter problem, particularly with Starz movies?

 

[Buttmunch]

The biggest problem I have with the streaming is the selection. I don't see why they can't get stuff up on there the same day it comes out on DVD/Blu Ray. If they did that, I don't think most people would have had a problem going stream-only like they wanted us to. And they should just have EVERYTHING they have on DVD on there as well. I don't see why I shouldn't be able to pick anything from their library at any time I want.

I've actually gone BACK to Blockbuster because of this. Can exchange in the store again and can even get games too.

 

[Darth_Fatso]

I'm glad they are taking a hit. Their condescending financial officer a month or so ago said something along the lines of "I know this will cost us business." Brilliant statement. Now I have more expensive streaming and half the time it stutters. Anyone else have a stutter problem, particularly with Starz movies?

I've been having quite a few problems with Netflix as of late. It used to run flawlessly 95% of the time but here lately while watching a movie it stops randomly every now and then. I'm not sure if it's because of a bad connection or what.

 

[CollectorNC]

I've been having quite a few problems with Netflix as of late. It used to run flawlessly 95% of the time but here lately while watching a movie it stops randomly every now and then. I'm not sure if it's because of a bad connection or what.

Same problem here man, and also choppiness or stuttering on some movies.

 

[pixletwin]

I would convert to hulu plus, but when I tried the free month, I couldn't figure out how to get the TV shows that I wanted.

 

[darthviper107]

The biggest problem I have with the streaming is the selection. I don't see why they can't get stuff up on there the same day it comes out on DVD/Blu Ray. If they did that, I don't think most people would have had a problem going stream-only like they wanted us to. And they should just have EVERYTHING they have on DVD on there as well. I don't see why I shouldn't be able to pick anything from their library at any time I want.

I've actually gone BACK to Blockbuster because of this. Can exchange in the store again and can even get games too.

That's exactly why they don't have movies when they come out--the stores like Blockbuster are paying to get them themselves to gain more business.

 

[CollectorNC]

https://www.foxnews.com/scitech/201...enames-dvd-division-qwikster/?test=latestnews

More great Netflix news.

 

[Mad Old Lu]

I got that email this morning from Netflix.

Honestly I'm surprised the streaming is supposedly getting the majority of subscribers. Like some of you have mentioned, the selection is terrible, with no new releases. I would think that especially an audience that wants immediate gratification, i.e. the streaming crowd, would demand that new movies be available for streaming the same day they're available for sale.

I rarely ever used streaming, except for the occasional documentary or tv series. So I downgraded to just DVDs. No real skin off my back.

I would hate for Netflix to go under. I despise Blockbuster, so I would hate to have to go to them if Netflix did fold. I remember laughing and laughing at BB when Netflix was kicking their butt repeatedly in the beginning, and thought it was ridiculous the preposterous, half-hearted efforts BB would make to try and compete with NF.

 

[Kuzeh]

Here's the letter:

https://blog.netflix.com/

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
An Explanation and Some Reflections

I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. I’ll try to explain how this happened.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business. Eventually these companies realize their error of not focusing enough on the new thing, and then the company fights desperately and hopelessly to recover. Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.

When Netflix is evolving rapidly, however, I need to be extra-communicative. This is the key thing I got wrong.

In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success. We have done very well for a long time by steadily improving our service, without doing much CEO communication. Inside Netflix I say, “Actions speak louder than words,” and we should just keep improving our service.

But now I see that given the huge changes we have been recently making, I should have personally given a full justification to our members of why we are separating DVD and streaming, and charging for both. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why:

Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD, plus lots of TV series. We want to advertise the breadth of our incredible DVD offering so that as many people as possible know it still exists, and it is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection on DVD. DVD by mail may not last forever, but we want it to last as long as possible.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We feel we need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolve, without having to maintain compatibility with our DVD by mail service.

So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are becoming two quite different businesses, with very different cost structures, different benefits that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently. It’s hard for me to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary and best: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”.

We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, and now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. Another advantage of separate websites is simplicity for our members. Each website will be focused on just one thing (DVDs or streaming) and will be even easier to use. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated. So if you subscribe to both services, and if you need to change your credit card or email address, you would need to do it in two places. Similarly, if you rate or review a movie on Qwikster, it doesn’t show up on Netflix, and vice-versa.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). Members who subscribe to both services will have two entries on their credit card statements, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as the current charges.

Andy Rendich, who has been working on our DVD service for 12 years, and leading it for the last 4 years, will be the CEO of Qwikster. Andy and I made a short welcome video. (You’ll probably say we should avoid going into movie making after watching it.) We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready. It is merely a renamed version of the Netflix DVD website, but with the addition of video games. You won’t have to do anything special if you subscribe to our DVD by mail service.

For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that distinctive red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be the same for many of you. We’ll also return to marketing our DVD by mail service, with its amazing selection, now with the Qwikster brand.

Some members will likely feel that we shouldn’t split the businesses, and that we shouldn’t rename our DVD by mail service. Our view is with this split of the businesses, we will be better at streaming, and we will be better at DVD by mail. It is possible we are moving too fast – it is hard to say. But going forward, Qwikster will continue to run the best DVD by mail service ever, throughout the United States. Netflix will offer the best streaming service for TV shows and movies, hopefully on a global basis. The additional streaming content we have coming in the next few months is substantial, and we are always working to improve our service further.

I want to acknowledge and thank our many members that stuck with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours,

-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

So basically the guy is "apologizing" for being a ******, by writing and even douchier condescending letter, that in reality does nothing to fix the problems people have with Netflix's latest changes...

 

[ProgMatinee]

I think the split (not the pricing) may kill the brand, but who knows.

Its irritating that now when I add discs to my DVD queue it won't tell me I can get it via streaming on Netflix.

IMO the _____ing and moaning that everyone did because Netflix no longer let them suck on its tit for $2 is now causing the bigger problem.

I have no problems with the price increase, because for $25 a month I was getting 5 times the satisfaction as I do with my $100 cable bill. Now, because of people too cheap to pay $60 more a year Netflix has to redo their whole business model.

 

[CollectorNC]

Here's the letter:

https://blog.netflix.com/



So basically the guy is "apologizing" for being a ******, by writing and even douchier condescending letter, that in reality does nothing to fix the problems people have with Netflix's latest changes...

They are looking like real tools and douches throughout this. Honestly, if the streaming performance doesn't revert back to what I had originally, I'll just go back to old school cable and PPV.

 

[MachineGunMan]

We get games now through our netflix service... did i undestand that right? That is going to be awesome.

 

[Reinhardt]

Basically, he didn't explain WHY the change was made, even though he said that is the reason he is writing the letter.

I love streaming. Yeah, the selection of choice movies and tv shows may be lacking, but there is a TON of stuff there that I find interesting, especially a lot of the off the wall stuff. I have discovered lots of new shows/movies that I would have never known about if it weren't for streaming. I would have never taken the risk to rent something and wait for it to arrive if I wasn't sure about it. With streaming, in about 1 minute I am able to move on to something else if it sucks.

 

[Reinhardt]

We get games now through our netflix service... did i undestand that right? That is going to be awesome.

Yes, but for an extra fee.

 

[CollectorNC]

They really are going to make it ala carte and price point themselves out of the market.