Rant Is anyone else annoyed that Netflix is raising their prices again?

[ultimatebob]

I noticed that Netflix is raising the prices on my 4 screen 4K "Premium" plan from $16 to $18 a month.

Personally, I think that the timing on this price increase sucks. The new content coming released by Netflix for this year has been pretty weak, and I'd imagine that the content coming out next year will also be pretty weak thanks to the COVID-19 studio shutdowns. They're also getting competition from other streaming services like Disney+ and Apple TV+, and you can usually get one of those for free with a cell phone plan.

I originally signed up for Netflix to watch Hollywood blockbuster movies and some quality original dramas like House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black back when the service only cost $9.95 a month. I'm not sure if the new programming like "Floor Is Lava" and "American BBQ Showdown" is worth almost double that price.

What do you guys think? Can Rutledge Wood single-handedly save Netflix?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Are they raising it on the other plans as well? I hadn't seen any notice in my mailbox. But it beats paying for cable tv.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

What a cash grab!

Netflix originals are overwhelmingly shit - the production quality is subpar. They are getting less and less content from other providers as well.

I find myself watching Prime video, Hulu or Tubi more.

 

[Kaido]

Annoyed, yes. Everyone is stuck at home during the pandemic, what better time to raise prices?

On the flip side, still >$20/mo for the max package, which is waaaaay better than what Cable TV used to be!

 

[sdifox]

Cancel?

 

[dasherHampton]

Didn't they just get rid of their free trial as well?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

They are raising prices because everyone has 50 people for each account to send out to all their relatives

Personally I still haven't seen much that I care for. Actually - the one thing I would pay for from them have been stand up comedy specials.

 

[ultimatebob]

Didn't they just get rid of their free trial as well?

They also lowered the bit rate for "4K" streaming as well, so it looks more like 1080p quality now.

For that reason alone, the $18 a month for the 4K package isn't worth it anymore.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yes, I'm annoyed. I will maintain my subscription, especially as we enter the cold winter months. but maybe next year i drop it. There's a few shows I'm waiting on the new season to come out, but doubt it will in 2021 due to covid.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

A friend about a year ago said to me when I was signing up for the first time that he was placing his streaming services on fractional rotation. He said something like four to six months on, and the same off. Had about five service in which only three were being subscribed to at any given time. But it is funny that I predicted this way back in 2003-2004. But then again I had a sort of inside knowledge of the platforms and technologies that the telco's were looking at for IPTV and stated why would anyone buy that when once you deliver the big pipe they's just a la cart directly from the sources. And look what happened. The invention of cordcutters and a la cart subscription services.

Oh well, as long as I am earning brownie points with the wife for having it that is good for me. Maybe that's netflix's plan all along? Get the women folks hooks forcing the men to keep the service no matter what? Evil I tell you, evil!

 

[ponyo]

I dropped Netflix like 8 years ago when they first raised prices by $1. People said I was crazy and petty for dropping it over $1 increase. Never regretted it and don’t miss it.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Annoyed, yes. Everyone is stuck at home during the pandemic, what better time to raise prices?

On the flip side, still >$20/mo for the max package, which is waaaaay better than what Cable TV used to be!

Yeah, people forget and become spoiled too easily. No commercials, no need to set a dvr, and adding and dropping content providers is quick and painless. Amazon and Youtube music are also welcome additions to my life. I added curiosity stream and nebula for a year for $15 too. And I won't soon forget how expensive renting movies was bitd. It is my opinion that we get way more for our entertainment dollars now, with far less downsides involved. Raising prices may be for profit only, or it may be partly because of the man with the most punchable face, Ajit Pai and the gang. Perhaps it is to improve the production values of original shows, or all of the above. But Netflix is far from expensive or overpriced IMO.

I guess people can be dirt bags and do the argh me hearties! But I don't roll like that.

 

[SKORPI0]

They are raising prices because everyone has 50 people for each account to send out to all their relatives

So true. You can check when, where (with IP address), what device is being used on your account.

Netflix

Watch Netflix movies & TV shows online or stream right to your smart TV, game console, PC, Mac, mobile, tablet and more.

www.netflix.com

 

[ultimatebob]

I dropped Netflix like 8 years ago when they first raised prices by $1. People said I was crazy and petty for dropping it over $1 increase. Never regretted it and don’t miss it.

The thing is that I wouldn't mind the price increases if they had the content to back it up... but they don't. Their selection of recent movies sucks now. It also seems that for every good show they have like Narcos, they have a dozen filler crap shows that aren't even up to basic cable TV standards. They've probably put out about 30 hours total of quality content this year.

 

[KMFJD]

there's not enough on it for me to keep a monthly subscription, i'll occasionally get a month subscription to catch up on stuff i want to watch though.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The whole idea behind Netflix used to be that you can watch almost anything for only $8 a month and it was a steal. But now you have all these other services getting exclusive rights of certain shows/movies, then Netflix raising their prices a few dollars at a time every few years.... basically it's gone full circle, where if you want everything (legally) you are basically paying the same as cable. Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Crave... there's just so many now, and they all mostly have exclusive rights over content so not like you can just pick one and have access to everything.

I hate when companies raise prices even by a small amount since it's 100% greed. It might only be a small amount, but you know damn well they did the math, and know most people won't care. Then the next year they do it again, and again... This is happening with everything, including essential things like groceries and utilities. You start to add up everything that goes up, and add up the years, and it ends up being a lot of money that you no longer have. And of course, our salaries stay the same.

 

[mikeymikec]

I'm more annoyed that Ghost in the Shell SAC 2045 was shit. I was getting Netflix for free from my brother so I can't complain

 

[Leymenaide]

Just a great excuse to reflect on your needs and wants. We have had it for 2 months time to cancel ? Maybe not this month but when I see the increase I will ask the wife.
A lot of us are buying these services for a month or 2. I think this will cause rate increases or force us to buy a longer contract.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The thing is that I wouldn't mind the price increases if they had the content to back it up... but they don't. Their selection of recent movies sucks now. It also seems that for every good show they have like Narcos, they have a dozen filler crap shows that aren't even up to basic cable TV standards. They've probably put out about 30 hours total of quality content this year.

Check out their stand-up comedy if thats something you find worthy of watching.

Heres a list of all their performers and specials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Netflix_original_stand-up_comedy_specials

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The whole idea behind Netflix used to be that you can watch almost anything for only $8 a month and it was a steal. But now you have all these other services getting exclusive rights of certain shows/movies, then Netflix raising their prices a few dollars at a time every few years.... basically it's gone full circle, where if you want everything (legally) you are basically paying the same as cable. Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Crave... there's just so many now, and they all mostly have exclusive rights over content so not like you can just pick one and have access to everything.

I hate when companies raise prices even by a small amount since it's 100% greed. It might only be a small amount, but you know damn well they did the math, and know most people won't care. Then the next year they do it again, and again... This is happening with everything, including essential things like groceries and utilities. You start to add up everything that goes up, and add up the years, and it ends up being a lot of money that you no longer have. And of course, our salaries stay the same.

True - Everyone started their own streaming service - and each time a new one started Netflix lost content.

Hulu was probably one of the first. It's also the shittiest of shit IMO. This has content from Comcast and NBC or whomever all they own.
Then HBO made their own and took their stuff with them with WarnerMedia.
Then Disney made their own Disney+ and took some of their stuff with them.

 

[KB]

The whole idea behind Netflix used to be that you can watch almost anything for only $8 a month and it was a steal.

It was a steal. Netflix was stealing from its future. To fund that ridiculously low price it was charging, Netflix was going into debt ($14 billion as of April). The amount it was charging wasn't even close to what they were spending on content. They could continue to add debt because for every piece of content they added, they treated it like an asset. Unfortunately most of the content is a crappy asset and eventually banks will want their money, so they will continue to have to raise prices.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, people forget and become spoiled too easily. No commercials, no need to set a dvr, and adding and dropping content providers is quick and painless. Amazon and Youtube music are also welcome additions to my life. I added curiosity stream and nebula for a year for $15 too. And I won't soon forget how expensive renting movies was bitd. It is my opinion that we get way more for our entertainment dollars now, with far less downsides involved. Raising prices may be for profit only, or it may be partly because of the man with the most punchable face, Ajit Pai and the gang. Perhaps it is to improve the production values of original shows, or all of the above. But Netflix is far from expensive or overpriced IMO.

I guess people can be dirt bags and do the argh me hearties! But I don't roll like that.

Not only that, but you can play it on your TV, tablet, smartphone, desktop, laptop, game console, etc. And you can download a lot of shows for offline viewing, which is great when traveling!

 

[Kaido]

It was a steal. Netflix was stealing from its future. To fund that ridiculously low price it was charging, Netflix was going into debt ($14 billion as of April). The amount it was charging wasn't even close to what they were spending on content. They could continue to add debt because for every piece of content they added, they treated it like an asset. Unfortunately most of the content is a crappy asset and eventually banks will want their money, so they will continue to have to raise prices.

That's part of the struggle...people get bored, so you need new content. They've had some really fantastic shows over the years. LOVED Daredevil. They did a good job on Lucifer too. But creating content costs $$$. Their 2020 projected budget for both acquiring new content & creating new content is over $17 BILLION dollars:

Netflix Budget for 2020 Content Projected to Be $17 Billion or More

The streaming giant Netflix shows no signs of slowing down in 2020. They will likely spend more than $17 billion on content.

collider.com

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It was a steal. Netflix was stealing from its future. To fund that ridiculously low price it was charging, Netflix was going into debt ($14 billion as of April). The amount it was charging wasn't even close to what they were spending on content. They could continue to add debt because for every piece of content they added, they treated it like an asset. Unfortunately most of the content is a crappy asset and eventually banks will want their money, so they will continue to have to raise prices.

That makes sense, thanks for the financials.

 

[pete6032]

What is the cost now, $14 per month?

Before Netflix the only other option was going to Blockbuster or Hollywood video. I remember back then in the early 2000s a movie rental was $4-$5. Accounting for inflation that's probably $5-6 today, so that Netflix plan is basically 2-3 movie rentals per month. When you look at it that way it's not so bad.

EDIT - at the same time you have to consider if you would have cable TV if Netflix didn't exist. I feel like Netflix has really hurt cable TV subscriptions, so you could argue that for some people the cost of Netflix is much cheaper than having cable TV.