Netflix has decided to increase my plan price by 60%

[weirdboy]

They are switching from having bundled DVD + streaming plans to two completely different plans. My old $9.99 plan for unlimited 1 DVD out + unlimited streaming would now essentially be 2 x $7.99 or $15.98.

No price break or bundle pricing at all.


So, I guess my Netflix subscription is going to get canceled pretty damn soon.

 

[EdWort]

Yeah, that sucks.

I will cancel both out of principle. If enough folks do it, I imagine their HOPED for massive revenue increase will actually result in a massive revenue decline as well as subscriber base.

 

[headbanger]

Yeah, I'd tell them to pack sand too... since most of the rental chains around here (blockbuster, movie gallery) have gone back to private ownership I've gone back to renting locally. Still makes me wonder what people are thinking though when I see them lined up at the red box in front of mcdonalds when there's a locally owned rental store with a great selection right next door.

 

[nefarious_1_]

Blasphemy.

I'd have to cancel both as well.

Of course, they've already taken cancellations into account which is why the rates are so astronomical: they need to make up for lost revenue.

Corporate fascism comes into play, once again.

 

[bob1852]

TapRoom broke this story an hour ago.

 

[couplebeers]

I'm going to cancel both as well.

 

[bucfanmike]

havent seen anything from them yet. I use their streaming alot since i cut the satellite

 

[Germelli1]

Meh, I cancelled cable so my netflix subscription is a tiny expense compared to if I had kept cable. Plus I would gladly pay $10-$15 (hell I would probably pay up to $30 a month) since it means my tiny amount of time spent watching TV wasn't wasted on 15% commercials

 

[Shooter]

Interesting, Netflix has decided to reduce my payment by 100%.

 

[Germelli1]

Plus if there is ever a sport event I want to see live (hockey is really the only one I follow...LETS GO CAPS) I can either walk to the bar with $3 32 oz beers of anything on tap or stream it on the internet!

 

[nefarious_1_]

havent seen anything from them yet. I use their streaming alot since i cut the satellite

It starts September 1st for current subscribers. Just checked.

 

[the_bird]

Meh, we hardly use the DVD side, so we'll cancel that and save $2 a month. It's Capitalism 101, it's either worth the money to you or it's not. It's not like Netflix is the only source for entertainment.

 

[EdWort]

havent seen anything from them yet. I use their streaming alot since i cut the satellite

When you go in and check your membership details, you will see these words.

The price of your Unlimited Streaming + 1 DVD out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will change to $15.98 (plus any applicable tax) a month starting with your next billing period on or after Sep 01, 2011.
You are currently in the 1 DVD out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan with unlimited time to watch instantly.
Your current period price is $9.99 plus any applicable tax.

 

[viking73]

Looks like I'll be checking this tonight when I get home. Arg.

 

[dweaver]

doesn't seem like that big of a deal, I use netflix but only for the streaming stuff and at $8 a month compared to the $70 a month for satellite or cable it is a bargain, I know that the streaming plus one dvd out a month was only $2 extra and for that it was a great deal but I didn't think that it would be sustainable for Netfllix considering they are competing with kiosks like RedBox that only cost $1 a movie/per night and you can get new dvd's without having to worry about shipping times

 

[the_bird]

They aren't being tricky about it at all. I mean, the email comes through "Important Netflix Account Info: Price Change and New Plans‏" and gives you direct links to change the plan and/or to cancel the whole account. They aren't trying to bury the price increase. I'd rather they *didn't* raise the price, but that's their right and I respect them making it easy for me to opt out.

 

[dweaver]

since it means my tiny amount of time spent watching TV wasn't wasted on 15% commercials

a 30 minute program is really about 20-21 minutes long when you cut the commercials so your looking at about 30% of your time wasted on commercials

 

[Bobby_M]

$20 a month to avoid the temptation of EVER going to a movie theater for a one time $30 ass pounding. Sounds like a bargain.

I think what they are slowing trying to do is get everyone off the DVD plans.

 

[dataz722]

I really want to cancel after seeing this because sometimes we will go a few months without using netflix once but then we will go a couple months and use it constantly.

If their streaming selection was better I would stay for sure but as of right now I just don't know.

 

[Bobby_M]

Yeah, I wish they could stream everything they have in their catalog (at BD quality). I'd pay $20 for a streaming only service in that case. I don't need the disc.

 

[stevo155]

I just read a story today where there expenses are going to skyrocket because contracts with studios will start to expire. With added competition from Amazon, Hulu, etc., the studios are going to be asking for more money and Netflix is going to need to pay more...I wonder who will pay in the end?

 

[EdWort]

$20 a month to avoid the temptation of EVER going to a movie theater for a one time $30 ass pounding. Sounds like a bargain.

I think what they are slowing trying to do is get everyone off the DVD plans.

Yeah, I agree, but it's the principle of such a large percentage increase.

I'll cancel in protest, but probably sign back up anyway later after they ask me back with a discount.

I enjoy access to old classics cause Hollywood is just turning out garbage today. No creativity and surely not worth the price of a ticket.

 

[the_bird]

Netflix has made absolutely no secret abut moving away from the DVD-by-mail business, it's just a matter of whether that business lasts another five years or something less. It's dead and they know that. But, I'm not sure it's viable for them to have the whole catalogue available for streaming, just in terms of the licensing fees that they'd have to pay (and a lot of the content owners don't want anything to do with Netflix; if HBO starts licensing their content to Netflix, who pays $16/month for HBO anymore? They'll cannibalize too much of their own business.

But, I'd pay a lot more than $20 a month for a "Premium" Netflix service that included a lot MORE of the "good" stuff (and cancel our regular cable; even with the limitations of streaming, I watch more Netflix than regular TV). I suspect that's the model that they may be moving towards in the future; more content at higher prices, maybe a tiered service for streaming. If they give us everything we want, it ain't going to be for $7.99.

 

[TxBrew]

Looks like I'll be checking this tonight when I get home. Arg.

Same here.

 

[HexKrak]

This is a bummer. I've been on the 3 disk and unlimited streaming plan for years, and have watched the price slowly creep up. The part that bugs me is that I got bumped up a couple dollars just a few months ago, and now here it is again. If they hit me up again before the end of the year I might have to find another media solution. I want to see too many movies that they just don't have available streaming.

 

[jsguitar]

I checked my account and saw the same thing. I didn't see an email but maybe I missed it. It's quite a hike. I'm just keeping the streaming for now.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

$20 a month to avoid the temptation of EVER going to a movie theater for a one time $30 ass pounding. Sounds like a bargain.

I think what they are slowing trying to do is get everyone off the DVD plans.

I think it was a month or two ago where Netflix announced they are changing their business plan in an effort to move toward being an online only focus by making the by-mail service less appealing.

Seems now they are backing that up.

As to the comment regarding HBO's preference to people paying monthly for access, I don't agree. In fact, Cox was already offering premium VOD streams to customers not subscribed to the channel.

In fact, IIRC, most all cable services are trending themselves toward VOD'centric (ala' carte') programme services. And, I for one, am ready for it. Makes much more sense to me to pay $1 per stream for current content and the production studios would see a hefty profit too.

With the leaps display devices have made in the last few years the cinema experience just doesn't make sense anymore and the ONLY ones complaining are the cinema owners lobbying to make VOD less accessible to the masses.

 

[37OliveStBrews]

Yeah, I have been a big fan of Netflix since they first came to market, both from an investment point and entertainment point. However, this large of an increase will lead me to canceling Netflix and using my wife's existing Amazon prime account to stream from.
This large of a jump could have been padded with a tiered rate increased over a years time rather than this big of a jump.

 

[the_bird]

As to the comment regarding HBO's preference to people paying monthly for access, I don't agree. In fact, Cox was already offering premium VOD streams to customers not subscribed to the channel.

In fact, IIRC, most all cable services are trending themselves toward VOD'centric (ala' carte') programme services. And, I for one, am ready for it. Makes much more sense to me to pay $1 per stream for current content and the production studios would see a hefty profit too.

With the leaps display devices have made in the last few years the cinema experience just doesn't make sense anymore and the ONLY ones complaining are the cinema owners lobbying to make VOD less accessible to the masses.

That's a different model than Netflix', though. Netflix pays the content owner a flat, negotiated fee (many of which are due for renegotiation, as was noted). Netflix' whole business model up to this point has been flat-fee based. Whatever HBO might negotiate for giving access to their content, it's going to be something considerably less than what they get as their cut from the cable companies under the current business model.

I do agree, though - the grand iTunes experiment has shown that people are willing to frequently pay a nominal fee (adding up to big $$ in the end) for the specific content they want. But, that's different from the Netflix model.

Oh, and the Amazon Prime thing won't really take off unless (until?) they figure out how to do the streaming through Wiis and xBoxes and all that. I'm not dumping cable to watch TV at the computer. I'm pretty sure you can buy separate boxes to stream via Amazon, but that's making my life more complicated than I want it.

 

[_JP_]

I had Netflix years ago and once I saw Hulu, I switch instantly and never looked back.

HULU (www.hulu.com) is free (~90 sec ads during the commercial breaks) and is streamed in 480P.

For something comparable to Netflix (more selection, less advertising), their service is $7/mo and is streamed in HD, and is then available on your phone, Ipad, etc.

 

[lschiavo]

I love the streaming netflix. I barely ever watch cable anymore. It's just for news, sports and kid's shows. We had the one dvd plan which we will now drop. I hope any price increases will get some more streaming selections. I like the documentary category best. Talk about slow turnaround in that area plus at least half a dozen pot documentaries

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I do agree, though - the grand iTunes experiment has shown that people are willing to frequently pay a nominal fee (adding up to big $$ in the end) for the specific content they want. But, that's different from the Netflix model.

Oh, and the Amazon Prime thing won't really take off unless (until?) they figure out how to do the streaming through Wiis and xBoxes and all that. I'm not dumping cable to watch TV at the computer. I'm pretty sure you can buy separate boxes to stream via Amazon, but that's making my life more complicated than I want it.

I dunno that it is so much a different business model. I mean, yes, I paid a flat fee for the service and that is still feasible, I think. yet, ala carte I think is more profitable for the production studios (which is what will really drive content avilability).

As for the devices, the service is the same whether it's NetFlix, Amazon Prime, VuDu, or BlockBuster VOD. Most devices that offer the service now are reconfigurable through a USB update. Question is, are the device manufacturers going to make good? Or are they just going to expect us to buy the next new device?

However, yes, there are devices (Roku) that can connect to just about any TV to add IPTV connectivity for a small expense.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I had Netflix years ago and once I saw Hulu, I switch instantly and never looked back.

HULU (www.hulu.com) is free (~90 sec ads during the commercial breaks) and is streamed in 480P.

For something comparable to Netflix (more selection, less advertising), their service is $7/mo and is streamed in HD, and is then available on your phone, Ipad, etc.

Hulu is a great resource for series programming. Hulu Plus does sweeten the deal by offering more but, from what I have seen, the Movie selections aren't any better than what Netflix offers through the stream catalogue.

 

[lschiavo]

Hulu is a great resource for series programming. Hulu Plus does sweeten the deal by offering more but, from what I have seen, the Movie selections aren't any better than what Netflix offers through the stream catalogue.

I agree, I had 3 months free Hulu with my new TV and a Netflix account. I didn't watch much Hulu.

 

[Shooter]

I think what they are slowing trying to do is get everyone off the DVD plans.

Yeah, I wish they could stream everything they have in their catalog (at BD quality). I'd pay $20 for a streaming only service in that case. I don't need the disc.

Agreed, not sure I'm going to stick with streaming only, 90% of what I search for just isn't there. I might have to drop the DVD portion and give it a few months to see if streaming only works out.

 

[Airborneguy]

Damn, glad you guys pointed this out. Gonna talk to my wife and see what she wants to do. I'd rather stick with the DVD's for now honestly. Most movies I look for aren't on the streaming list yet.

 

[Clann]

My dad just got the price change email. He wasn't happy about it.

 

[weirdboy]

The problem I have with streaming only is that I will start watching a TV series and then get a couple of seasons in and find out they don't have the rest available for streaming, when there are like 6 seasons of a TV show and they only have the first 3 and it's still airing on TV, what am I supposed to do to catch up? Before I would get those other seasons on DVD and then be caught up.

So for that reason alone I am dropping Netflix if they really stick to their guns on this new plan. I can find plenty of places that will let me stream the same TV shows for cheaper or even free; no sense paying Netflix for that privilege if they don't offer any differentiator.

 

[bucfanmike]

Finally got my email. I'll end up dropping the DVD side. I rarely send them back fast enough to get more than 8 per month. I can just get things I really want thru redbox for the extra that Netflix wants. I maybe ina different boat than others as I built a Htpc and everything is either ota or streaming. I use both Netflix and hulu plus

 

[DeafSmith]

I just cancelled my NetFlix account a few days ago because I wasn't using it (I've had it suspended since the first of the year). I never used the streaming because I'm hard of hearing and need the closed captions, which the streaming didn't have, except for subtitled foreign language movies. I don't know if they have found a way to stream with the CC, but if not, discontinuing the DVD's, or making them too expensive will lock out a bunch of us with hearing problems. Besides, I've got my DTV DVR 90% full of stuff I want to watch and haven't had time for.