Netflix goes bat@#%@ insane, it's $16 a month now if you want to keep 1 DVD + streaming, $18 for 1 B (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

I'm one in the camp of "not such a big deal." We have the 4 DVD + streaming + Blu-ray and our plan is only increasing by $2. Evidently the biggest increase is for the 1 DVD + streaming subscribers who are getting a $6 hike.

I'm one in the camp of "not such a big deal." We have the 4 DVD + streaming + Blu-ray and our plan is only increasing by $2. Evidently the biggest increase is for the 1 DVD + streaming subscribers who are getting a $6 hike.

That doesnt sound correct

That doesnt sound correct

It is. We currently pay $32.98 and it will go up to $34.98 on September 1st.

That's the price for me too.
I was grandfathered in on the 4 out price of $25 that is now going up to $28 now I think and eliminates any grandfathered price.
Then add the price for the streaming and I'm up to $35. So I get a $10 increase.
It a shame for people like me who have been using the service for over ten years, ever since it was a sponsor on the original DVD Resource that there is no discount or bundle pricing anymore.
I will likely be deleting the disc portion and just stream for a bit anyway.
Here is the email. The last sentence is very revealing.
.
.
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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 $24.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray access) will be split into 2 distinct plans:
   Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
   Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs (including Blu-ray), 4 out at-a-time (no streaming)
              for $26.99 a month
Your price for getting both of these plans will be $34.98 a month ($7.99 + $26.99). 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.

 

[Jason_V]

Let's see...right now, I'm at $11.99 for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVD/BD's. My new price is going to be $17.98. I don't stream nearly enough, so that's going to go.

This whole thing reminds me of our recent office move: parking had been free for the life of the company, but in the new office, a parking pass is $50 a month (carpool and busing is free). Same thing here: a formerly free "perk" is now going to cost money. Sorry, I'm dropping the streaming.

I wonder, though, how long it will take for it to be free again. I can see lots of people leaving Netflix over the constant rate hikes.

 

[Bryan^H]

I don't appreciate movie titles dropping out of my Instant Que. I know many titles they only have for a limited time, but there are no notifications to let you know when the titles go missing(I have about 200 in my Que).
$16...? Can we expect many, many more new release films available for streaming then? If so, I may keep my subscription.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I'm on the $11.99 plan, which would go up to $17.98.
I don't use Netflix enough to warrant that kind of price hike, so I am dropping the service altogether.

 

[dmiller68]

They are only launching streaming in most other countries. If you look at it as they charge $7.99 for streaming means that they where only geting $2 for DVD shipping. I can't imagine it was profitable for them. They gave streaming away basically when they launched it. While this is a crazy increase I think it makes since. Not happy I will decrease to one disk from two.

 

[Kevin Collins]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten
Cancelling my account if this goes through on 1 September...
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/07/netflix-introduces-new-plans-and.html

I left Netflix last month. I couldn't justify the cost to watch movies on a subscription basis. If I didnt' have two kids, it might be different. However, Redbox is just a much better value prop, particularly after this price increase. I can rent 18 Redbox movies for the same cost of one month of Netflix Blu-Ray. Granted, I get streaming, but I can't stand the video quality of the video streaming on Netflix on anything but a flat screen. Trying to watch streaming in my HT is just a bad experience.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Yep, they REALLY need to increase the quality of streaming if they want to charge more for it. That includes adding 5.1 sound on ALL devices (I know the PS3 and a few other things support it now, but my TV doesn't.)

 

[Bob_S.]

See for me Redbox really doesn't help me because I watch very few new movies. I watch old movies and old tv shows (for the most part). My kids stream daily and there are some old tv shows on streaming that are not on dvd (Gunsmoke Season 8). So for me the only option is to go from 3 dvds to 1.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by EricSchulz
Yup, my plan is going from $14.99 to $19.98....not a horrible increase, and one I can fully afford, but I wonder where down the line it will change again....

What you mean it's not a horrible increase. That's a 25% increase for you. My plan is going up 33%. Those two increases are significant ones.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill
I'm on the $11.99 plan, which would go up to $17.98.
I don't use Netflix enough to warrant that kind of price hike, so I am dropping the service altogether.

That's my plan too and I'm probably going to do the same as you.

 

[Sam Posten]

There were tons of reports on this on evening news last night, it's not just us enthusiasts getting bent, this is pissing off regular folks...
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/netflix_price_hike_causes_drama_4f7RYbrvch2JMNkrrszjKO
http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/13/dear-netflix/
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=14059088
http://thepartycrasher.com/2011/07/12/latimes-netflix-hikes-pr/

 

[RobertR]

I'm going to change my DVD queue to watch the shows I haven't seen, then drop the DVD part.

 

[Robert Crawford]

After thinking about it, I'm going to drop them this month even before September 1st and reallocate those Netflix charges to downloading movies from DirecTV that give me 1080p video and 5.1 audio. They have several HD presentations of classic films each day. Some are free of charge the others are like $4 per movie.

 

[TheLongshot]

I'm a little surprised some are saying "no big deal" when it is the second price hike in a year. My reaction to the first was to go down to 2 discs from 3. My reaction to this is to get rid of DVDs entirely and just go streaming. Fact is I've been watching streaming a lot more lately than the DVD releases, so Netflix will be getting less of my money and if I need to rent anything, Redbox probably will be good enough. I hope their business model supports lower revenues, because that is what they are going to get.

 

[EricSchulz]

Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
What you mean it's not a horrible increase. That's a 25% increase for you. My plan is going up 33%. Those two increases are significant ones.

Yes, when you look at that way, it is. I guess in my situation it's not. I used to do the 5-at-a-time, bought DVDs like crazy and also subscribed to another service (can't remember their name but they were an ala carte service that specialized in non-R1 DVDs...and I miss them!). I practically never buy DVDs anymore and still have hundred that I'm working through that I've never watched but purchased over the years. And I use the streaming A LOT on my iMac and LOVE it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by EricSchulz
Yes, when you look at that way, it is. I guess in my situation it's not. I used to do the 5-at-a-time, bought DVDs like crazy and also subscribed to another service (can't remember their name but they were an ala carte service that specialized in non-R1 DVDs...and I miss them!). I practically never buy DVDs anymore and still have hundred that I'm working through that I've never watched but purchased over the years. And I use the streaming A LOT on my iMac and LOVE it.

Eric,

What you do with your monies is your business. I was making those comments strictly based on the percentages of these latest increases. Usually, we get single digit increases, but to get a single 25-33% increase is significant in my opinion.








Crawdaddy

 

[Sam Posten]

Engadget weighs in with a good recap and a suggestion for netflix:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/13/editorial-netflix-was-too-cheap-before-but-now-its-just-wrong/

 

[JeremyR]

I think a particular problem exists for Netflix in this situation, with the caps that providers are putting in place, AT&T being the latest. 150GB/m for DSL customers and 250GB/m for U-Verse customers.
The other opportunity that exists, belongs to Dish Network with their recent acquisition of Blockbuster. Certainly Redbox will benefit, but the Blockbuster stores out from under the weight of their own debt could also greatly benefit. I called a store close to me recently, to discover their pricing structure had changed. Now very new releases are $2.99 for DVD and Blu-ray (down from almost $6 last time I was in there a year ago or so) , and recent releases are $1.99 for DVD and Blu-ray. All other Blu-ray and DVD's in the store have dropped to 99 cents per night. My understanding is, also, that if you return the new release or recent release the next day, you get an additional 50 cent credit toward your next rental. Certainly, Redbox is still cheaper on newer titles, but Redbox also has the problem of limited titles, as well as delayed availability and the simple inconvenience of standing outside in the heat, rain, or snow to see what might possibly be available, all things which Blockbuster doesn't deal with. At Blockbuster you can get customer service, and the comfort and joy of browsing the aisles in A/C or heat. I truly thought Blockbuster stores were dead, and they may still be, but perhaps not so fast. In addition, Dish Network could come in and provide a similar service to Netflix and a cheaper cost with Blockbuster, and have the benefit of exclusive availability in teh first 30 days.
The real question, is what are Dish's intentions with Blockbuster. Do they plan on luring customers away from Cable and DirecTV by providing exclusive services to satellite subscribers with Blockbuster, or do they plan to go straight after Netflix's jugular. Certainly the opportunity is now there for them to do so.

 

[Sam Posten]

Blockbuster and Redbox are eating this up.
http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/13/7074704-outrage-over-netflix-rate-hike-continues

 

[SD_Brian]

What I object to most about this whole situation is that I didn't receive direct notification from Netflix about the price change until a full 8 hours after I had read about it online. When the notification finally showed up, the tone was basically, "Suck it up or Cancel!"
With better PR, not to mention including in their press release a better explanation for the (perfectly valid) reasons for the change, I'm guessing Netflix wouldn't be getting as much blowback as they are.
I know, I know: "Thank you, Captain Hindsight!"