NETFLIX feeling wrath of customers after price hike

[Ehwmatt]

BTW, this whole fiasco shows me that we are a long way away from Clouds and streaming being the exclusive market for media. You never know when content or an entire service might completely go away. I want certain movies and albums in my own collection, not at the mercy of a corporate contract between two companies/studios or the financial problems of a streaming/cloud provider.

[slucero]

I kinda think the approach was (is)

1. undercut the competition through lowest cost
2. assume high-speed bandwidth at a lower cost would catch up


The 1st one worked because they control their sell cost to the customer... (even at a loss)

The 2nd one hasn't because providers are already truncating bandwidth to tiers (just like cell data plans) to create value incentives for customers to upgrade..


I think Netflix is ahead of the curve... and quite possibly won't survive this.

[Behshad]

They skirt the main issue...no need to apologize, but if you're going to, then you should just go back to your previous pricing model...still a pretty good value though...

So after they lose the Starz contract, won't alot of their content go away?

Any movies that start off with teh Starz logo will go away, I think during the past 2 years Ive seen probably 4-5 that were Starz exclusive.

Just about any halfway decent movie I've watched off the streaming service was Starz. The movie content on the streaming service is laughable at best already. And I'm not even opposed to cheesy 80s movies. But man, I haven't even heard of the shit they have on there.

As far as them being able to do whatever they want with the pricing, tell me a business that increases its flagship/basic product by 65-70% in a month's time that survives (other than utilities/necessities).

At bottom, one of two things happened here:

1. Netflix knew their pricing was bogus all along, did it for a few years to rope people in and help expedite the death of competitors (e.g., Blockbuster), and hoped they could get you hooked on the service enough to tolerate the price increase. This is the smart phone/data plan model the cell phone providers obviously followed from day one.

2. They legitimately thought they could undercut competitors with their pricing and it backfired.

Neither is excusable and either will lead to Netflix being a business laughingstock within a few years.

Theyre just gaining more power by adding videogame rentals to their services. That alone will bring over enough people to make sure they still stay strong.
I dont know what fiasco youre talkin about. Netflix simply realized that more and more people want to go over to STREAM ONLY , which is great that they separated their services. Again, for $8/m you get plenty to choose from , even after Starz is gone.

[Ehwmatt]

They skirt the main issue...no need to apologize, but if you're going to, then you should just go back to your previous pricing model...still a pretty good value though...

So after they lose the Starz contract, won't alot of their content go away?

Any movies that start off with teh Starz logo will go away, I think during the past 2 years Ive seen probably 4-5 that were Starz exclusive.

Just about any halfway decent movie I've watched off the streaming service was Starz. The movie content on the streaming service is laughable at best already. And I'm not even opposed to cheesy 80s movies. But man, I haven't even heard of the shit they have on there.

As far as them being able to do whatever they want with the pricing, tell me a business that increases its flagship/basic product by 65-70% in a month's time that survives (other than utilities/necessities).

At bottom, one of two things happened here:

1. Netflix knew their pricing was bogus all along, did it for a few years to rope people in and help expedite the death of competitors (e.g., Blockbuster), and hoped they could get you hooked on the service enough to tolerate the price increase. This is the smart phone/data plan model the cell phone providers obviously followed from day one.

2. They legitimately thought they could undercut competitors with their pricing and it backfired.

Neither is excusable and either will lead to Netflix being a business laughingstock within a few years.

Theyre just gaining more power by adding videogame rentals to their services. That alone will bring over enough people to make sure they still stay strong.
I dont know what fiasco youre talkin about. Netflix simply realized that more and more people want to go over to STREAM ONLY , which is great that they separated their services. Again, for $8/m you get plenty to choose from , even after Starz is gone.

I mean, the quality of the content is subjective to some extent. We'll have to let the court of public opinion decide that. I just know for me that if they didn't have TV shows and some interesting documentaries on the streaming, that woulda gone out the window along with my disc plan.

Videogames are a cool option, but I don't think that's going to attract enough to cancel out the current subscriber exodus. Again, we'll let the court of public opinion decide that.

I just don't see things going well for Netflix and/or Qwikster. It's sad because it was an awesome service before.

[Rip Rokken]

Just about any halfway decent movie I've watched off the streaming service was Starz. The movie content on the streaming service is laughable at best already. And I'm not even opposed to cheesy 80s movies. But man, I haven't even heard of the shit they have on there.

2 nights ago I flipped thru the New Releases on streaming Netflix, and out of 250 entries displayed in my queue, I literally only recognized 3 major "new release" theatrical release titles, and they were at the top of the list. The rest were either very old or predominately 2nd/3rd/4th string titles. Was pretty disappointed.

So is there a better all-inclusive streaming service? How about Hulu Plus? I've been using Netflix exclusively as a subscription service, with a combination of Redbox and Amazon for movies/TV shows I can't get there.

[Behshad]

Just about any halfway decent movie I've watched off the streaming service was Starz. The movie content on the streaming service is laughable at best already. And I'm not even opposed to cheesy 80s movies. But man, I haven't even heard of the shit they have on there.

2 nights ago I flipped thru the New Releases on streaming Netflix, and out of 250 entries displayed in my queue, I literally only recognized 3 major "new release" theatrical release titles, and they were at the top of the list. The rest were either very old or predominately 2nd/3rd/4th string titles. Was pretty disappointed.

So is there a better all-inclusive streaming service? How about Hulu Plus? I've been using Netflix exclusively as a subscription service, with a combination of Redbox and Amazon for movies/TV shows I can't get there.

Just go to Hulu's website to see what kind of (crappy) catalog they got.
Amazon have their Prime option, which for $80/year gives you access to all their streamable content. However, there arent many devices out there that can stream this to your TV or phone, so youre stuck with your PC/Mac.

[Ehwmatt]

Just about any halfway decent movie I've watched off the streaming service was Starz. The movie content on the streaming service is laughable at best already. And I'm not even opposed to cheesy 80s movies. But man, I haven't even heard of the shit they have on there.

2 nights ago I flipped thru the New Releases on streaming Netflix, and out of 250 entries displayed in my queue, I literally only recognized 3 major "new release" theatrical release titles, and they were at the top of the list. The rest were either very old or predominately 2nd/3rd/4th string titles. Was pretty disappointed.

So is there a better all-inclusive streaming service? How about Hulu Plus? I've been using Netflix exclusively as a subscription service, with a combination of Redbox and Amazon for movies/TV shows I can't get there.

I hear ya man. As far as a better service, I'm not sure. TBH, I really don't care THAT much about their movie selection because I don't really watch movies that frequently. I like to watch TV shows. Right now, their TV selection is good for me. But, I don't think I represent the majority in not caring as much about the movies. And it still pisses me off on the rare occasion that I do want to find a decent movie to watch

[G.I.Jim]

Well, we cancelled our disc service today. Fuck Netflix and their fees! I'll stick to downloads only, and if they jack those up, I'll stick with Redbox and just say the hell with them altogether. I hope the damn company crumbles after what they've done to the rental industry. I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

[Behshad]

Well, we cancelled our disc service today. Fuck Netflix and their fees! I'll stick to downloads only, and if they jack those up, I'll stick with Redbox and just say the hell with them altogether. I hope the damn company crumbles after what they've done to the rental industry. I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

Its just you !
No but seriously, with technology comes the comfort, yet takes away from the experience as you described above..... but its the same thing with music industry . I remember how fun it was to go to the record store and browse through their inventory (for the 1256th time) and get all excited when you would see one or two new LPs.
I dropped the Disc service 6 months ago and currently happy with stream-only

[Ehwmatt]

Well, we cancelled our disc service today. Fuck Netflix and their fees! I'll stick to downloads only, and if they jack those up, I'll stick with Redbox and just say the hell with them altogether. I hope the damn company crumbles after what they've done to the rental industry. I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I wouldn't go so far as to say I miss rental stores. I certainly don't miss going to a store to rent a new release and seeing all 50 copies already taken out. By the end, they were charging $6 a rental. Fuck that.

[artist4perry]

Well, we cancelled our disc service today. Fuck Netflix and their fees! I'll stick to downloads only, and if they jack those up, I'll stick with Redbox and just say the hell with them altogether. I hope the damn company crumbles after what they've done to the rental industry. I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I wouldn't go so far as to say I miss rental stores. I certainly don't miss going to a store to rent a new release and seeing all 50 copies already taken out. By the end, they were charging $6 a rental. Fuck that.

It makes just buying the ones you like and just waiting for the others your not sure about to be released for free on TV in a year. It amazes me what we pay for these stupid one time movies.

[Rip Rokken]

I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I do, too! Sometimes I'd get to know the people who work there, and enjoy talking about films and getting recommendations - plus, they'd stash away a copy of that new release for me before the masses came in and cleaned them out. It was fun, and I definitely miss it.

[Rip Rokken]

Just go to Hulu's website to see what kind of (crappy) catalog they got.
Amazon have their Prime option, which for $80/year gives you access to all their streamable content. However, there arent many devices out there that can stream this to your TV or phone, so youre stuck with your PC/Mac.

Mine streams Amazon - I may have to check it out. $80/year is cheaper than I'm paying with Netflix.

[Behshad]

I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I do, too! Sometimes I'd get to know the people who work there, and enjoy talking about films and getting recommendations - plus, they'd stash away a copy of that new release for me before the masses came in and cleaned them out. It was fun, and I definitely miss it.

And of course you asked them (the cashier) to sign your copy for you.

[txfirefighter]

I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I do, too! Sometimes I'd get to know the people who work there, and enjoy talking about films and getting recommendations - plus, they'd stash away a copy of that new release for me before the masses came in and cleaned them out. It was fun, and I definitely miss it.

And of course you asked them (the cashier) to sign your copy for you.

Okay, B.....now THAT was funny!

Sorry, Rip!

[Rip Rokken]

I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I do, too! Sometimes I'd get to know the people who work there, and enjoy talking about films and getting recommendations - plus, they'd stash away a copy of that new release for me before the masses came in and cleaned them out. It was fun, and I definitely miss it.

And of course you asked them (the cashier) to sign your copy for you.

Okay, B.....now THAT was funny!

Sorry, Rip!

I'm going to hit Welnack up to sign my pics from the Nikki Sixx event.

[txfirefighter]

I actually miss going to Blockbuster and Hollywood. I miss browsing the aisles with my son and picking movies together. It was more of an experience than just picking a movie online. Maybe it's just me that feels that way?

I do, too! Sometimes I'd get to know the people who work there, and enjoy talking about films and getting recommendations - plus, they'd stash away a copy of that new release for me before the masses came in and cleaned them out. It was fun, and I definitely miss it.

And of course you asked them (the cashier) to sign your copy for you.

Okay, B.....now THAT was funny!

Sorry, Rip!

I'm going to hit Welnack up to sign my pics from the Nikki Sixx event.

I'll let her know to bring a sharpie.

[Don]

Amazon Prime isn't a bad deal if you make a lot of purchases through that site any way.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-201115 ... eStories.0

Thanks to a new licensing deal Amazon has made with 20th Century Fox, later this fall Amazon Prime members will be able to instantly stream such TV shows as "24," "The X-Files," and "Arrested Development" and such movies as "Office Space" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

The deal will bring the total number of "free" Prime instant videos to more than 11,000 movies and TV shows as Amazon continues its efforts to match up with Netflix in the digital streaming arena.

Amazon Prime currently costs $79 a year and allows members to get free two-day shipping on many products Amazon sells. Amazon is heavily pushing the program with enticements like video streaming because it stands to reason that Prime members are Amazon's most loyal shoppers.

Other popular Fox movies Amazon is citing in the deal are "Speed," "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Doctor Dolittle," "Last of the Mohicans," and classics like the "The Longest Day," and "All About Eve." Other TV shows include "NYPD Blue," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Ally McBeal," and "The Wonder Years." Only "Wonder Years" is currently not available on Netflix for streaming or on disc.

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that DreamWorks Animation had signed a licensing deal with Netflix, "replacing a less lucrative pact with HBO." CNET's Greg Sandoval called the deal "more spin than win," arguing that Netflix was trying spin the limited DreamWorks deal into a worthy replacement for Starz. Sandoval says Netflix users won't get DreamWorks content until 2013.

Netflix purportedly has somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 videos available for streaming or nearly twice the amount of videos that Amazon offers. However, as Amazon continues to chip away at the numbers gap, Netflix users may be more likely to jump to Amazon because its streaming service is technically cheaper at $6.58 per month versus $7.99 for Netflix--and you get a Prime membership with free shipping thrown in.

[Behshad]

Amazon Prime isn't a bad deal if you make a lot of purchases through that site any way.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-201115 ... eStories.0

Thanks to a new licensing deal Amazon has made with 20th Century Fox, later this fall Amazon Prime members will be able to instantly stream such TV shows as "24," "The X-Files," and "Arrested Development" and such movies as "Office Space" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

The deal will bring the total number of "free" Prime instant videos to more than 11,000 movies and TV shows as Amazon continues its efforts to match up with Netflix in the digital streaming arena.

Amazon Prime currently costs $79 a year and allows members to get free two-day shipping on many products Amazon sells. Amazon is heavily pushing the program with enticements like video streaming because it stands to reason that Prime members are Amazon's most loyal shoppers.

Other popular Fox movies Amazon is citing in the deal are "Speed," "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Doctor Dolittle," "Last of the Mohicans," and classics like the "The Longest Day," and "All About Eve." Other TV shows include "NYPD Blue," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Ally McBeal," and "The Wonder Years." Only "Wonder Years" is currently not available on Netflix for streaming or on disc.

Yesterday, The New York Times reported that DreamWorks Animation had signed a licensing deal with Netflix, "replacing a less lucrative pact with HBO." CNET's Greg Sandoval called the deal "more spin than win," arguing that Netflix was trying spin the limited DreamWorks deal into a worthy replacement for Starz. Sandoval says Netflix users won't get DreamWorks content until 2013.

Netflix purportedly has somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 videos available for streaming or nearly twice the amount of videos that Amazon offers. However, as Amazon continues to chip away at the numbers gap, Netflix users may be more likely to jump to Amazon because its streaming service is technically cheaper at $6.58 per month versus $7.99 for Netflix--and you get a Prime membership with free shipping thrown in.

I will consider switching from Netflix to Amazon Prime once they have software for streamin on iphone/ipad and PS3/360. For now I pay the extra $1.41/month and enjoy Netflix As far as shipping rate I always choose Free SuperSaver shipping anyway and 9 out of 10 times get the item within 3 days

[Don]

There is a good chance that Amazon will buy Netflix, or at least the part that streams movies which would leave the DVD service to slowly wither away.

[Behshad]

Qwikster is gone before it even arrived.

http://news.yahoo.com/dvds-stay-netflix ... 14851.html

[Rip Rokken]

Qwikster is gone before it even arrived.

http://news.yahoo.com/dvds-stay-netflix ... 14851.html

The core message being:

"When you step back and start analyzing some of the biggest questions surrounding Netflix, nothing has really changed," Cowen and Company analyst Jim Friedland said.

"You still have a 60 percent price increase in what is still a challenging economic environment" as well as growing competition, said Friedland, who has a "neutral" rating on Netflix shares.


I just received this tonight from Netflix:

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We're constantly improving our streaming selection. We've recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we've added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.

Respectfully,

The Netflix Team

If the 60% price hike was "necessary", then I feel it supports my point -- that they were operating under sustainable price levels to drive competitors out of business.

[mikemarrs]

Lost nearly a million subscribers...


http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/24/technol ... _earnings/

[Yoda]

Lost nearly a million subscribers...


http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/24/technol ... _earnings/

I believe it! Lost me as a subscriber for a little while at least. I might eventually go back to the streaming part if they start putting better material on there.

[Don]

For the shows that I like to watch, Amazon Prime does the trick. Since my family uses Amazon regularly for shopping, the free two day shipping in the Prime package makes it a new brainer for us.
Yes, they don't have the biggest selection of media yet but it is growing and the shipping isn't for everything but overall,the $79 bucks for one year works for me.

[Behshad]

For the shows that I like to watch, Amazon Prime does the trick. Since my family uses Amazon regularly for shopping, the free two day shipping in the Prime package makes it a new brainer for us.
Yes, they don't have the biggest selection of media yet but it is growing and the shipping isn't for everything but overall,the $79 bucks for one year works for me.

As soon as Amazon comes out with an app for iphone/iPad/PS3, I might switch over from Netflix.
The 2 day shipping doesnt mean much , cause I always use their free supersaver shipping and still get items within 2-4 days

[Don]

For the shows that I like to watch, Amazon Prime does the trick. Since my family uses Amazon regularly for shopping, the free two day shipping in the Prime package makes it a new brainer for us.
Yes, they don't have the biggest selection of media yet but it is growing and the shipping isn't for everything but overall,the $79 bucks for one year works for me.

As soon as Amazon comes out with an app for iphone/iPad/PS3, I might switch over from Netflix.
The 2 day shipping doesnt mean much , cause I always use their free supersaver shipping and still get items within 2-4 days

The shipping isn't a big benefit to me since I order a lot of stuff from Amazon UK but my kid utilizes the heck out of it.

At the moment, the media selection isn't going to appease everyone as the library is still being built up but I watch a lot of BBC and PBS programs which Prime offers with the unlimited streaming.

[Yoda]

[quote="Fact Finder" to higher operating expenses including recent increases in debit-card transaction fees, an outgrowth of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
[/quote]

There is also a big factor in why a lot of this stuff is going up in price. It costs these businesses a good chunk of money over the long haul to accept debit cards and credit cards. Now, I don't do Redbox (simply because I am so afraid of my CC # getting hacked with people hacking the machines) but I'm assuming these machines do not take cash?

[brywool]

Shows how much I pay attention to my charges! I had no idea the price went up.

[Ehwmatt]

I will say, in the last few weeks, the streaming content has really improved. I've found a lot of good stuff to watch lately. Hope that trend continues.