Netflix CEO comes to his senses, quashes Qwikster

[dreamshark]

Y'know, I really don't have a problem with Netflix raising prices as they expand their service offerings. Streaming Netflix was a daring, brilliant new direction for them, and it was pretty clear that they couldn't keep expanding that service indefinitely without actually charging for it (it was originally rolled out as a free addition to all the monthly DVD plans). What has been disturbing over the past 2 or 3 years is the constant fiddling with the pricing plans. Price increases were sudden and jarring, with explanations that didn't really hold water (e.g., the 25% BluRay surcharge added in 2009). The Great Price Hike of 2011 was probably long overdue. If they had just said, "We have to raise prices to cover the unexpectedly high licensing fees that come with the massive increase in our product offerings" it would have seemed reasonable. But instead, the price hike was accompanied by another change in the pricing plan, another announcement of change in corporate direction, and a bunch of mealy-mouthed claptrap about how the new pricing structure was a fabulous new FEATURE intended to serve consumers better, not actually a price increase at all.

But still, massive price hike and all, Netflix still offered much more than any of their competitors. Blockbuster's DVD by mail plan is confusing, expensive, and has a smaller library than Netflix. Amazon, Vudu, and others have streaming services, but they really can't compare. Vudu is a pay-per-view service at a ridiculously high price point (two movies cost more than a month of unlimited streaming Netflix), and Amazon doesn't stream to my TV. But the real strength of Netflix is the seamless integration of DVD and streaming services. You can look up a movie or TV show, find out immediately if it is available on streaming or DVD, and add it to either queue with the click of a button. When movies in your DVD queue become available for streaming, they are flagged with a prominent "PLAY" button, allowing them to be started up in Instant mode directly from the DVD queue (or optionally added to the Instant Queue).

The sudden announcement last month that the service was going to be split into two, thus eliminating that whole integrated experience, was just the last straw. No, wait, that's not true. The last straw was the ridiculous new name for the core DVD service. Seriously, "Qwikster?" Was this entire project masterminded by a time-traveler from the 1990's??? The embarrassing revelation that they rolled this stupid name out without even checking to see who was already using it was just the icing on the cake.

So, it is with great relief and hope for the future that I report that this whole thing was nothing but a bad dream. Netflix stays intact, at least for now, and The Qwikster can continue documenting his weed-fueled munchie runs without getting tangled up in anybody's movie queues.

Comments

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I joined on the streaming + 1DVD price, so to me they're doubling the price. The rule is that internet service prices only decrease over time; they're not allowed to increase (this is why "5 year lock-in prices" are so popular; they know the price will go down not up). Netflix is trying to violate this rule.

And one DVD at a time is SO MUCH not worth $7.99. At that level we only get a bit over one DVD watched a month.

Plus, raising the price just points up the shallowness of their streaming collection compared to their DVD collection.

So we've been doing a lot more Amazon streaming (which works fine for us), and making more use of the cable (which I was considering dropping for a while).

(For those not taking notes at home, we did not sign up to pay more for the DVD service.)

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Apparently our households have very different media habits. For me, the magic of Netflix has always been that virtually any movie that I might ever want to watch is available practically overnight (and no need to wait in line at a video store). Much as I enjoy the fun of browsing through the chaotic mess on streaming Netflix, it's the ability to get hold of a SPECIFIC movie that means the most to me. When I get the urge to watch something in particular, it is very rare to find it available streaming. Streaming Netflix (or any of their competitors) have a long ways to go before they are truly a replacement for the DVD service.

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"Plus, raising the price just points up the shallowness of their streaming collection compared to their DVD collection."

True, that. One of the many management missteps in this whole adventure.

The really disturbing thing is that they didn't (and still don't) seem to think that there is any particular value in their encyclopedic DVD collection: that as long as there is a lot of content available on both media, which one people use is purely a matter of which distribution method worked better for them. I'm still afraid that the longterm Netflix plan is to spin off and sell their DVD-by-mail business. And frankly, I have my doubts that any new owner would run it as well as they have.

In any case, I'm not trying to talk you out of using the solution that works best for you. I was looking around too, but couldn't find any combination of services that met my needs. Have you just stopped renting DVDs entirely, or have you found some other source? How do you get the Amazon stream to your TV? Or do you watch on your computers?

[carbonel]

Your habits are clearly more like mine. It's the encyclopedic DVD collection that primarily interests me. I never could have got as far on my four-star movie-watching project without Netflix.

Their downloadable collection just doesn't compare, though it would be nice if it did, someday.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Basically, we had never previously rented DVDs or video tapes at all. Netflix, on the streaming-plus-one-DVD plan, was our first investigatory poke in that direction. Basically, it didn't work out usefully. I enjoyed a few things, but had trouble finding time to watch them (because watching video is mostly a joint thing with me and Lydy).

Mostly, we've been watching Top Gear. Lydy also watched Anthony Bourdain a lot. Most of the things we want to see are on DVD, or aren't available at all; but having to decide what we want days in advance just doesn't work. And having to have figured out what's next before returning one also was a problem. The three-DVD level might have been better, but not worth the money; it's just movies and TV, after all. When we run out of Top Gear the whole Netflix thing might be over; who knows?

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I somehow missed any notice from Netflix, but when I looked at my account after seeing your post, I found that I'd been automatically signed up for the combined streaming and 1 DVD at a time plan - at twice what I'd been paying before for the same service. I switched to streaming-only until I have a more reliable income.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I dropped Netflix entirely, especially after finding some of the stuff I'd put in my queue at the public library. And streaming is all well and good as long as you don't need close captioning. Netflix is currently being sued by the National Association of the Deaf for being in breach of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

On the other hand, I've enjoyed watching Netflix's stock price tank.

[daedala.livejournal.com]

I've been finding this whole Netflix thing baffling, since I'm a) still on the plan I've been on and b) the $5+tax price hasn't changed. I figure I'll deal with it if they mess with the price.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

You must be on the entry level program where you're restricted to just 2 DVDs and 2 hours of streaming per month.

[mle292.livejournal.com]

They charge whatever they charge I suppose.

I am relieved to hear that they won't be breaking.

The downside to splitting into two companies would have been that we would lose the part where it's much more clear which DVDs we don't need to get. When it's all one account, the queue lists which TV and movies are available through watch instantly.

If it was split up, I would be seriously looking at Hulu Plus. Hulu's pay service seems to have a reasonable selection of movies, and way more television episodes.