New Netflix Pricing Plans Will Upset You
It looks like you're going to have to mail that copy of Crash back to Netflix. The online rental site announced new pricing plans on Tuesday, which effectively phase out DVDs for the frugal consumer. Gone is the unlimited streaming plus one DVD for $9.99 per month option, replaced with two separate $7.99 options -- one for DVDs and one for streaming. If subscribers want the choice of both, the package costs $15.98. Begin shaking your fist at the sky... now. [The Netflix Blog]
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That just put the final nail in my "You need to cancel Netflix" coffin.
Want to blame the right people? Look at the greedy suits in the studios who are jacking up the price for Netflix to provide their services. That's Hollywood for you. Can't figure out how to make money in the 21st century, so they just piggyback on someone else's smart idea and bleed it to death until the next thing comes along. Lord knows they can't just cut back on their obscene profit margins, all the while pissing and moaning that they aren't making money. Nope, let's hijack the next passing vehicle and then complain to the cops when we get caught that it's not our fault. Greedy jerks deserve nothing less than losing everything they have and living on the streets for the rest of their miserable lives.
I've been doing 3-discs + streaming for a while, so my pricing isn't changing as significantly as those who were at the minimum.
And I lean toward Mr. Wolf above re: studios playing hardball with Netflix. Netflix agreed to only have movies one month after video release as a quasi peace offering for Hollywood's crumbling revenue stream. They make deals to rotate streaming films instead of having them indefinitely. In short, they're playing nice with Hollywood, but Hollywood isn't reciprocating.
Price hikes always suck, but if this means Netflix has a little more leverage to deal, I welcome it.
The only way this hike doesn't suck to the point of abandoning Netflix is if the number of streaming movies has suddenly tripled overnight.
Also, this is a real kick in the teeth in rough economic times, considering the immense brand recognition Netflix has achieved. it's like Coke or Pepsi announcing that all sodas and beverages will now cost twice as much starting next week. Or that Big Macs are now $10, end of story. People don't cotton to this kind of sudden shift in their everyday stuff like this. The burden of too much success...
Prices like that are gonna make me go back to seeing movie in the theaters like some sort of damn savage.
Thanks a lot, Hollywood jerks.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older or something but there are a lot less movies I'm interested in watching being released now than say twenty years ago. Looking at the current top 10, the only movies I'm interested in are "Horrible Bosses" and "Super 8", yet I will not die a broken man if I don't see either one of them. This has made me seriously question continuing my subscription to Netflix. I have the lowest possible plan, and I end up averaging TWO WEEKS for each CD I'm sent. I hate to say this, but a month ago I got "There Will Be Blood" because I wanted to finally see it, and I finally returned it to Netflix yesterday after realizing I will never watch it.
I'm actually grateful Netflix is raising the prices. The movies and TV series they have available for streaming are for the most part the bottom of the barrel, and the only reason I kept on was because I figured $10 wasn't such a bad price. Now they've finally kicked my ass for being so lazy, and I'm quitting at the end of this month - I already paid through the end of July so I'll keep the service for another two weeks or so.
I think $16 a month plus taxes and all is a very reasonable price to pay for people who want to see movies and stream obscure shows and such. But I'm going to pass. When the best Hollywood has to offer is "Zookeeper" and "Real Wives of LaCrosse" then I'm gonna pass. Best of luck!
I feel sorry for all you suckers who actually pay a subscription service like Netflix to get your movies. God their really taking you for a ride! Just torrent download any movie you want for free!!! Oh, and not only that, download the Blu Ray rips if you want! Let's see, you can find pretty much any movie you want, get if for free, and download it (in most cases, depending on file size) in 50 mins. Naw, I'd rather pay, get em in standard definition and wait a couple of days to actually get the movie in the mail. And then I'll gladly shill out more cash when they decide to hike the prices up. People these days.
@Tommy Marx Why will you "never" watch There Will Be Blood? It's the greatest film of the decade. That's like saying... "meh, I'm too busy, I'll never get to The Godfather."
Some of us have moral preferences against stealing. Hardly worth getting animated over.
I hear ya. I've had City of God sitting on top of my DVD player for 2 months...2 months! But what do I do? Watch Braveheart for the billionth time on HBO. I don't blame Netflix, I blame me.
Are there freaks out there who really cannot understand why there are people who would like to PAY for goods and services rather than simply feel f’n entitled to any and all? Disgusting. Some of us would like the system of civilization to continue without we beginning to undermine it with the loopholes neurotic jolt cola fiends ferret out of it. That’s melodramatic, yeah. Still it isn’t like industry hasn’t already been all but eaten alive by this otherwise great new era in communication (imagine my voice being like the ’This is PROGRESS!” at Disney).
Isn't corporate greed just great?????????????????????????
Who does Netflix think they are Time Warner. Now they want to almost double the cost of what you were already getting. Well Netflix I was one of your biggest fans but your days are numbered because I will be looking for the new guy on the block, maybe Amazon. Oh by the way does Rupert Murdock own Netflix??????????????????
So it's morality your worried about? I can assure the corporations and studio's have no such concern. They have have no problem charging you 3x what they should on ticket sales, rentals and DVD/Blu Ray prices. I remember when (about 5 years ago) tickets used to cost $5. Now? $8.50. And that's matinee price! I have absolutely no problem going to the theater and happily turning my $8.50 over to The Tree of Life or Midnight in Paris. But if you think I'm going to finance the creation of endless franchises (X-Men, Thor, Fast Five, Pirates of the Caribbean) your sadly mistaken. I'm mildly interested to see X-Men (only for Michael Fassbender & James McAvoy) but I'm sure it's not going to be anything special or original. Not going to spend the money to finance the sequel, sorry. And besides, you have no idea how much money I put back into the industry by buying up Blu Ray's on a regular bases, and those cost three times as much as a ticket. So my moral dilemma is solved. But if you would like to be a warrior for the corporations and studio's greed be my guest, preach their gospel!
This sucks tremendously. I am one of those poors who literally cannot afford cable TV as well as internet service, and who is unfortunately also addicted to movies and TV (even though I almost never watch any TV shows currently airing - I'm catching up on a massive backlog of shows); Netflix was a godsend, with two disks at a time and streaming. Unfortunately I much prefer to watch things on disk - the streaming quality is NOT that great on my machines - it's always way too visually dark, and I like thinks that are already dark! - but I have no choice but to go to 1 disk at a time, and start hitting the library (and yes, the downloads) even harder.
Maybe one day I'll see "There Will Be Blood", but I had the disc for almost a month and just never felt in the mood to watch it. You're comparison to "Godfather" makes me feel better, though. I thought the first movie was okay and couldn't make it through the second one. So there's a strong likelihood that I won't particularly like "Blood". I did think "No Country For Old Men" was one of the best movies I've seen in years, but normally I'm more of a mainstream guy. And unfortunately, there's been a severe lack of good mainstream movies lately.
You're not alone. I watch more movies from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s than ever. New movies are generally just spectacle and not much substance. I'm 37.
It is stupid that Netflix is doing this. It's all about the profit, not about what the people want. We don't use the dvd option a lot, so will either drop Netflix or just streamline.