Netflix goes from $7.99 a month to $16...WHAT???

POSTED BY: OPPYH
UPDATED: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 15:30
VIEWED: 15202
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OPPYH

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 3:27 AM

Starting September 1st, Netflix unlimited streaming + 1 dvd a month will double in price.

Oh well, I enjoyed it while I had it

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70's TV FOREVER

RIONAEIRE

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 5:46 AM

Just the next step in the conspiracy. They loled society into choosing them instead of the videostore by offering low prices. But now that videostores are nearly gone :(((((((((((((( (insert pissed off face here) they can get away with charging whatever they want to and we, the sheeple, have to suck it up and pay since our other options are gone due to our short sightedness. Give me the videostore any day, I like going there and brousing. Now the only video store that is close enough for us to use is just on the borderline between being close enough and too far away. And those Red Box things don't count as a video store.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

STORYMARK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:26 AM

It's been coming for a while. The truth is, it was a great deal that was always going to be unsustainable. Those tracking the industry have been predicting this for months.

Netflix got a bunch of their streaming material for a song in their initial deals, because none of the studios saw much value in streaming. Now streaming has become a cornerstone of their business, and those deals are up. The studios are demanding as much as 10 times the licensing fees, so it's this, or they just stop the streaming service

It sucks, but it was always gonna happen, and will likely get worse, as the studios look to make more out of streaming as DVD revenue continues to fall.

At least it's cheaper now for those who want the disk only plan (if they're happy with just 2 at a time).

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

GWEK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 3:20 PM

The problem with the original poster's plan is that Netflix favors the bold, not the cheap.

My family's current plan is streaming + 4 discs, for 27.99. Come September, that will go up to 29.98, for an increase of less than 2 dollars.

We generally watch 4 or 5 discs a week, so even without ANY streaming stuff, I'm still paying less than 2 dollars per movie (considerably less if we do 5 a week and throw in a few streaming). That's a good deal by 1995 standards.

As has always been the case with Netflix, the more you spend, the more you save, so I'm not at all surprised that they people getting only one disc at a time are getting rooked. Hey, sorry, but bump it up to 2 or 3 and you'll get more value for your dollar.

I mean, I'm not happy that I'm going to be paying a few dollars more a month, but I think it's well within reason. Heck, I was much more annoyed when they jacked my prices up by forcing me to pay for streaming video, whether I wanted it or not (at the time, I did not... and I still don't use it nearly as much as the discs, due to limited selection).

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

ZEEK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 4:28 PM

I'm not a netflixer but it really doesn't surprise me. They've taken over the industry and now the industry is going to stick it to them. If they're a good source of revenue then expect the studios to try to get every last drop out of them. It will be an interesting little dance as I'm sure no studios want their movies pulled from netflix, but at the same time if they all raise prices what can netflix really do?

FREMDFIRMA

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 5:01 PM

American Business SOP - charge more, offer less, and when folks jump ship, misuse the legal system against those they jump to, or the customers themselves, just business as usual.

Not to mention how customer service has gone from solving your problem to either stifling your complaint any way possible, usuall via the neverending phone tree, or outright blaming the customer for the failures of the company.

But this kinda thing, the eventual model that ALL media and communication businesses want is to stick you with is either pay-per-minute, or pay-per-view, and they'll just incrementally shove towards it - all the while throttling their "unlimited" bandwidth, screaming like damned souls when you actually *gasp* USE the service you paid for, oh-how-dare-you, and throwing in extra undisclosed fees or changing the terms of the deal midstream and then handing it to you as a fait accompli.

Games companies are much the same, often as not locking out half the content on the disk and offering it as "downloadable content" even though it's already ON the disk and they locked it out JUST so they could get your sucker arse to pay, and pay, and pay again, for something you already own - and on top of that now offering single player games which REQUIRE you to log to their "authentication" servers or whatnot, making your ability to play dependant on their greedy whim, oh yeah, that'll end well - just ask anyone who played Motor City Online...
(Which, they continued to ship and sell, MONTHS after wiping the game servers, mind you)

To which all of the above try to legally justify it by EULAs and multipage small-print agreements which amount to nothing, since every single one states they can change the deal in any way, at any time, and you have no recourse - even complaining about their ripoffs or poor service violates your end of the agreement... AND they all collude and use the same boilerplate so you factually CAN NOT get a more honest deal somewhere else.

So really, this is business as usual - and a good part of why I never got around to subscribing to netflix...
See, I seem to have bad luck on that kinda thing, if I hold off on something, and come back for it later, damn me but it's ALWAYS gone - the ephemeral nature of the internet irritates me somewhat like that, but with their model (streaming, cause I don't trust em to mail the CDs and they've been CAUGHT slowboating and backstacking people, mind you)
I am wholly dependant on THEIR whim for the content, and thus the content I desire may not be there when I get around to wanting to watch it, rendering my payment kinda wasted, yes ?

Whereas the shelf behind me, those DVDs will ALWAYS be there, at any time, and via the NON net-enabled player that ONLY I have access to, are subject to my will, and mine alone - don't need no one elses permission, approval, or authorization, which, while more expensive - although not much more cause I find some right good bargains, subverts the trap of being at someone elses mercy over something you DID pay for, and yet they have NO obligation to offer.
(read the fine print)

I'm something of an extremist about it, yeah - but having been bitten one too many times, I want content that *cannot* be arbitrarily revoked AFTER I paid for it.

-Frem

KWICKO

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 5:18 PM

I looked into signing up, but their streaming choices were so limited that I would have had to do DVD as well, and at that point it just wasn't going to be worth my while, so I didn't bother.

Instead, when I want movies, I go to my local indy-vid place and rent them. They have an amazing documentary section, and knowledgable staff who get to know you and your preferences and make recommendations based on that.

That, and they usually have a big blockbuster showing in the store, while staff and customers join in with their own zingers and one-liners, so it becomes kind of a walk-in Mystery Science Theater 3000. Last time I was there, it was the remake of "Clash of the Titans"; wow, what a bomb.

DREAMTROVE

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 5:48 PM

Ol' bait and switch

That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.

STORYMARK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 6:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

American Business SOP - charge more, offer less, and when folks jump ship, misuse the legal system against those they jump to, or the customers themselves, just business as usual.

They're cost of operating is going up tenfold. How else are they supposed to stay in business? And how are they misusing the legal system?

I know it's the American way to complain at any cost increase, no matter the reasoning, but really.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

ZEEK

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 8:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:
They're cost of operating is going up tenfold. How else are they supposed to stay in business? And how are they misusing the legal system?

I know it's the American way to complain at any cost increase, no matter the reasoning, but really.

Is the cost really going up that high to produce the content though or are the studios price gouging netflix?

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