Netflix Introduces New Plans and Price Changes

[jayn_j]

I'm glad it works for some. Not for me. My family has had the last dvd sitting here for 4 weeks. They do stream a lot though. I think I will just cancel the DVD option.

 

[Teehar]

Bad decision on their part.Looks like they will lose a lot of subs.Knew a price hike was imminent though paying $1 million per episode for mad men.

 

[Slamminc11]

Hmm, I just may take a look at Blockbuster...

 

[charper1]

Looks like my Unlimited Streaming for $7.99 a month stays the same; so no foul for me. Whew! The streaming catalog will likely never have everything, but it has always had what I wanted.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I switched to streaming only plan right when it came out months ago. So no change for me.

 

[tom231]

I will be switching to the streaming only option. ( My wife and son use streaming quit a bit) I only watch maybe one dvd a month anyway. So, I will just rent an occasional PPV movie from Dish, and I will still come out ahead.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I'm sure Charlie is loving this.

It was bound to happen, as the streaming is probably costing then millions per month in bandwidth.

I hate Netflix anyways, so maybe some of those customers will finally realize the value of Dish and Directv.

 

[Stargazer]

They need to stream everything that they also have available on DVD. They should have partnered with Wal-Mart or some other big chain that is nationwide if they still saw a future in DVD. Wal-Mart had their own, got rid of it and now is bringing it back again. This means Wal-Mart does not have the cost that Netflix does for shipping the DVD's out if they are dropping them off there. Same thing with Blockbuster if they are doing anything like that. You would not have to wait for the DVD's in the mail. Streaming is the future though and the content needs to be there.

 

[Tyralak]

I changed to streaming only a few weeks ago, because I was holding on to the DVDs and never getting around to watching them. The streaming is fine for me, and the price is right.

 

[Rey]

this is why i left them a few years ago. this guarantees that i'm never come back.

 

[DodgerKing]

Too bad streaming literally has absolutely nothing worth watching. I wouldn't even pay 1 cent per month for streaming

 

[capman]

Just to add, I sub to both Netflix and recently resubbed back to blockbuster. Blockbuster doesn't charge extra for blu ray and they also have new releases on the release date. I haven't had to wait for any new releases. It takes a day longer to receive a movie than netflix, but for the price, you can't beat it. I'll prob keep the streaming option, but dropping the discs thru the mail.

 

[JamesJ]

wow...cant wait to mail my bluray (that has been sitting there a week) back...I know the price hike dosent take effect till october...but I DO not want netflix thinking they have pulled a fast one on me...good bye netflix you may have just wrecked your business.

 

[StevenD]

this is why i left them a few years ago. this guarantees that i'm never come back.

Ditto!

 

[DustoMan]

Interesting article on Netflix's current deals with content companies and how the deals will be up soon and according to this analyst. The game will change.
Studios are starting to play hardball with Netflix - Jul. 11, 2011
This is probably why we are seeing this rate hike. Netflix needs to 1. Isolate it's streaming costs from it's DVD-rental service to give content companies a better idea of how much of their money is going towards content delivery online and 2. have enough cash in reserve to afford contracts that will probably be 10x the amount of money they are now.

 

[Stargazer]

If they have limited streaming content then one might as well just go to you tube or the channel's websites and get the shows on demand. I am sure this is what many are thinking. I am not sure how limited their streaming content is though as I have never used the service.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Just to add, I sub to both Netflix and recently resubbed back to blockbuster. Blockbuster doesn't charge extra for blu ray and they also have new releases on the release date. I haven't had to wait for any new releases. It takes a day longer to receive a movie than netflix, but for the price, you can't beat it. I'll prob keep the streaming option, but dropping the discs thru the mail.

Same here,I just recently started subbing to Blockbuster. I'll return my Netflix Blu-ray disc,also just sitting there,& just keep Netflix' streaming service & Blockbuster.

 

[Ilya]

Here is the letter I just got from NetFlix:

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 $17.99 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), 2 out at-a-time (no streaming)
for $14.99 a month

Your price for getting both of these plans will be $22.98 a month ($7.99 + $14.99). 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


(I am currently on a 2 at-a-time plan with Blu-Ray)

So, it looks like the new pricing goes into effect in September.
And if I am reading this correctly, the Blu-Ray add-on price goes away.
As much as I like the NetFlix streaming via my Roku box, I don't think I will keep it now with this price and with the current limited selection. I am thinking of dropping streaming and perhaps even downgrading to the one-at-a-time plan. So, at least in my case, Netflix is going to lose money as a result of this price increase.

 

[dont24]

From what I can see the Blu-Ray add-on isn't going away.
2 DVDs out at-a-time
$11.99 a month
$14.99 a month with Blu-ray

Now would be a great time for Dish to step up and offer some type of BlockBuster deal to all existing subs.
I'll keep what I have now, until the price increase goes into affect. Then it's adios Netflix. Kids will be back in school by then, so streaming wouldn't get used much.

 

[TheForce]

My opinion is a bit different. I have the one out at a time plus streaming and BluRay. I did only one because I have Blockbuster 2 out at a time plus games pass and it is ~$35 per month, I added Netflix a year ago when I dropped HBO and all other movie channels from DishNetwork. It's been a good deal for me. Got rid of $35 with limited content and replaced with $12.99 with more content than I can ever watch at my fingertips. The only reason I added BluRay option was because I saw about 3-4 titles per month that Blockbuster doesnt have in BluRay. Also, I never have any childrens titles and the streaming is loaded with them so when my grandson comes over, I'm all set. But that's just one TV, the home theater. Netflix for the same money allows me to stream to all my mobile devices. We have it on two ipads my PDA 2 computers, PS3, XBOX 360, Blu Ray player and my Vizio panel display. The quality is superior to Blockbuster but not as good as Vudu. Bottom line- Good enough for the money.

I also am a trading stock holder as I buy and sell depending on it's weekly swings. Consequently I also have a business attitude to what they are doing with this price increase. When the stock recently hit over $304 a share, I sold off all but 10 shares and made a nice profit since I bought the other 90 at $245 I had expected to hold but decided to take those profits last week and not be greedy. Then this price increase comes along and it just made me smile because I knew most consumers would be mad as hell and make all sorts of noise about cancelling which will cause the sellers to bail. That is exactly what they did today and considering the outlook for Netflix is quite bright I'm presently buying back in as it continues to stay well below my cash out price from last week. I don't expect this to affect medium growth of the company at all. In fact, it has been known for quite some time that the Netflix profit margin of the mailorder DVD business is quite low compared to the streaming business. Got news for you in case you don't understand- Netflix wants customers to dump that mail order business and keep the streaming business. They plan to continue to expand the streaming library and accounts by a huge multile in the coming year. Management hopes all of you cancel the DVD accounts as it will raise their net profits. In the coming year Netflix plans to expand streaming into 43 additional countries, including China! Whether or not the streaming rates will increase has to do with the greed of the media providers. Netflix future plan is to improve bottom line by killing the DVD subscribers and expand the streaming business world wide. So, when all you DVD subscription cancellers execute, you are actually doing exactly what Netflix wants you to do. You might wonder why they just don't cancel that end of the business rather than raise rates. It's just good business, They figured out what the profitability needs to be to maintain the DVD mail order business and priced it accordingly. So, they are saying if you really insist on having mail order DVD rentals you'll need to pay the price.

Personally, this is one price increase I was very happy and excited to see come. I will cancel my yawner of a bluray one out at a time, be happy with my blockbuster movie/game pass and continue with the bargain in streaming from Netflix.