Netflix backpeddles on separating DVD & Streaming Service

[techwanabe]

I heard it on the radio coming into work and got this email:

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We're constantly improving our streaming selection. We've recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we've added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.

Respectfully,

The Netflix Team
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It seemed like a bad idea in the first place.

 

[thegpfury]

It seems to me like they're floundering and not planning things out. A split like that is a huge marketing move, and then to just backpedal on it doesn't make sense. Unless they were gambling that people were going to talk about the name change/take back more than the price hike. I don't see that happening though.

 

[Naeeldar]

It seems to me like they're floundering and not planning things out. A split like that is a huge marketing move, and then to just backpedal on it doesn't make sense. Unless they were gambling that people were going to talk about the name change/take back more than the price hike. I don't see that happening though.

Honestly they just didn't expect the negative reaction to be as large as it was. Their stock took a massive dive when they announced the change and jumped again today after the new announcements.

CEOs/Boards are human they make mistakes too. This one had the courage to correct it which is pretty rare to find in the business world.

 

[zerocool84]

Honestly they just didn't expect the negative reaction to be as large as it was. Their stock took a massive dive when they announced the change and jumped again today after the new announcements.

CEOs/Boards are human they make mistakes too. This one had the courage to correct it which is pretty rare to find in the business world.

Exactly, they admitted they made the mistake and fixed it. I'm glad it's back together. I only do streaming but it's good to keep it all together.

 

[Darknite39]

I am a NF addict, but I was going to drop my 2 dvd plan as soon as the split hit. Good decision. Now I'll keep both.

 

[JSt0rm]

I hardly ever stream but I like having them both together.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Having split queues and no shared customer reviews / ratings would have been a huge pain, and would have had me wondering every month whether I needed both plans. So I'm another anecdote for why backpedaling was a good idea.

 

[techwanabe]

I like having both together, but the cost increase was more than I felt was worth it since I was only taking a disc once or twice a month. With Redbox I can get discs for a dollar a couple times a month and be happy. The only problem is sometimes I do want to watch a movie thats been out for a few years or longer, and it's not available by streaming. But that isn't often enough for me to pay a higher monthly rate. I do with they would beef up the choices a bit more for streaming or recylce the choices more. There is alot of shyte on there, thats for sure.

 

[momeNt]

Was this all a plan to divest and make a shitload of money launching qwikster stock? Anyways I am glad it is scrapped. I still am evaluating how much the blu ray by mail is worth to me though. I keep paying it without thinking, but lately I have only been watching like 4 a month if that...

 

[techwanabe]

I think it comes out to about $8/mo for the streaming and about $9 for discs by mail. I believe my monthly with both would have gone up from about $12 to $17 and that was with bluray single discs out at any given time. I just wasn't using the disc option much so it was money in their pockets, but apparently they weren't seeing it that way or they wouldn't have changed the plan. I'd figure there are a lot of people like momeNt and me who were paying but not getting discs shipped, thus just money in their pockets despite postage being the big factor.

For now its streaming only for me and redbox for the occasional latest movey for a buck. After the announcement was made they were upping the price, my last 6 weeks I was cycling discs back twice a week to try to get what I could that wasn't available streaming. Maybe eventually I'll get a back log and get discs for month or two and cancel again. Right now not worth it, or if they drop the price, might reconsider. I run a tight budget so monthly costs need to be kept down, they do add up.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

/facepalm

backpedal.