Netflix splits off DVDs - separate company Qwikster

[Rudee]

I'll stick with Torrents as my main source for Bluray movie releases.

 

[MotionMan]

I'll stick with Torrents as my main source for Bluray movie releases.

Shouldn't you at least have a subscription with Netflix to keep up appearances?

MotionMan

 

[manly]

I'll stick with Torrents as my main source for Bluray movie releases.

Good luck with that.

 

[dwell]

Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix

 

[FoBoT]

Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix

 

[etrigan420]

Netflix doesn't have a pricing problem, it has a content problem.
The technology is no longer new. Studios can stream their own content in their own app.
Good content is being removed from Netflix online and is being replace with junk.
Unless Netflix can get content deals for real content, the service will become irrelevant.

This. Their content literally sucks balls.

 

[MotionMan]

This. Their content literally sucks balls.

MotionMan

 

[ch33zw1z]

Nice MM, classic.

 

[etrigan420]

MotionMan

Yeah, t'was a joke...

Having said that, their content most assuredly "sucks balls" in the figurative sense.

 

[MotionMan]

Yeah, t'was a joke...

Having said that, their content most assuredly "sucks balls" in the figurative sense.

Anybody want a peanut?

MotionMan

 

[irishScott]

This. Their content literally sucks balls.

They've got Farscape. *shrug*

 

[ponyo]

This Netflix split could benefit me. I'm interested in the game rental for the PS3. I might sign up again for the game rental. Hopefully Netflix will have every single PS3 game and price it low to try win back customers. I could use a free month "welcome back" trial.

 

[moshquerade]

i got the same email a couple hours ago.

i suspect that the only people who got the email were those who canceled their mail service and stuck with just the streaming, since most of you who said you were cancelling after reading the op never got the email. i canceled the mail dvd service about a week ago and i got the email.

i got the email and i didn't have mail service. also, expected a little bitty freebie with the apology.

 

[nageov3t]

This Netflix split could benefit me. I'm interested in the game rental for the PS3. I might sign up again for the game rental. Hopefully Netflix will have every single PS3 game and price it low to try win back customers. I could use a free month "welcome back" trial.

I'm curious to see how the pricing works out.

I could see myself renting the occasional video game, but not so often that I'd pay a monthly fee for it.

 

[Eli]

Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix

:awe:

 

[TheVrolok]

This Netflix split could benefit me. I'm interested in the game rental for the PS3. I might sign up again for the game rental. Hopefully Netflix will have every single PS3 game and price it low to try win back customers. I could use a free month "welcome back" trial.

Same here. If they add PS3 games in addition to their movie library, I'll most likely pick up a disc-at-a-time plan again. Totally worth it IMHO.

 

[Doppel]

qwikster is a fvcking pathetic name, no doubt about it. I would not want to own netflix stock right now. Their dvd business is going to die and we all know it and they know it. And streaming they have to fight with companies that can easily also get contracts with content providers and plenty of experience distributing over the net. Netflix has nothing unique to bring to market other than its name and an almost perfect array of unwatchable crap in its streaming selection.

 

[dwell]

They should have called it MailFlix. They probably didn't have enough cash to buy the name off the domain squatter though. Qwiktster is the dumbest name possible. So 2002 (Napster, Friendster).

 

[mattpegher]

IMHO if netflix doesnt strike some bargain with the studios to be able to stream the newest releases then they are going to fail. People are demanding, they want new releases, not movies released 5 years ago. And the studios need to realize that most people dont want to buy a DVD/Blueray that they are likely to watch only once. I think I have probably $500 in DVDs that I have only watched once. If they were able to get new releases at the same time that the DVD is release then I would be willing to pay more for streaming.

 

[apac]

IMHO if netflix doesnt strike some bargain with the studios to be able to stream the newest releases then they are going to fail. People are demanding, they want new releases, not movies released 5 years ago. And the studios need to realize that most people dont want to buy a DVD/Blueray that they are likely to watch only once. I think I have probably $500 in DVDs that I have only watched once. If they were able to get new releases at the same time that the DVD is release then I would be willing to pay more for streaming.

Don't forget high-def and 5.1 for the PC. The lack of 5.1 is unacceptable for anything but old TV series (which is all I watch on Netflix).

 

[Bignate603]

I really don't care. There's a lot of people bitching like they deserve all this shit for free and I won't be one of them.

I gladly pay my EIGHT WHOLE FUCKING DOLLARS a month (omg! break the bank!) for their streaming service.

Jesus.

"Being poor must suck!"

I wasn't that upset about the price increase but this splitting the services is really stupid. It will make the service harder to use for their highest paying customers (the people that pay for both the streaming and the disks).

 

[nageov3t]

I wasn't that upset about the price increase but this splitting the services is really stupid. It will make the service harder to use for their highest paying customers (the people that pay for both the streaming and the disks).

pretty much this.

I rolled with the higher prices and canceled my streaming services because, with fall tv coming back, I'm not doing a lot of "background noise" tv watching (which is what I used Instant for) but I might have re-sub'd in the summer again... but with them split into two separate sites, I probably won't even think about it anymore.

it's also a great draw into one service from the other when you're looking for streaming movies and see tempting titles under dvd-only, or see that you could stream movies that you're adding to your queue instead of waiting.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Reed Hastings understands customers are upset about a price hike, so they'll show the value by putting up a big wall inside the company?

Yes, Hastings knows that mail order DVD/BR rental industry is dead. Redbox is going to kill them. There is a Redbox on every dam corner now, and Blockbuster is getting in the game now, soon ever store you go to will have a DVD/BR kiosk with the most recent releases. It has a lower perceived cost, and the bonus of instant gratification.
So, Hastings is taking actions to limit the liability of keeping that branch of the company open, while giving the streaming side the ability to keep growing.

Bandwidth is slowly but surely improving, so 1080p/multi-channel audio streams aren't too far away. The fact that America is geographically huge and rural areas are under-served doesn't change that broadband is nearly ubiquitous. Sooner or later, even the AV-philes with high-end HDTVs will be happy with streaming quality.

This is not true, bandwidth has peaked and is now going down fast. ISPs are starting to throttle bandwidth speeds and implement download limits, hitting us with the double whammy in order to avoid upgrading their infrastructure and to encourage the use of their own services. If we don't get a strong version of Net-Neutrality we are doomed to being the slow backwater of the internet community as each ISP throttles everything on the net that they don't own.

However I would be impressed if she managed to scratch a BluRay. DVDs on the other hand......

Really? I have yet to see any material that is strong enough to avoid getting scratched by your average 8 year old.

IMHO if netflix doesnt strike some bargain with the studios to be able to stream the newest releases then they are going to fail. People are demanding, they want new releases, not movies released 5 years ago. And the studios need to realize that most people dont want to buy a DVD/Blueray that they are likely to watch only once. I think I have probably $500 in DVDs that I have only watched once. If they were able to get new releases at the same time that the DVD is release then I would be willing to pay more for streaming.

The movie studios are not willing to give up on DVD/BR sales. Your own words tell us why. They have gotten $500 from you, and I bet you have bought a DVD/BR recently, and will again in the future. The studio's plan for the future is to continue to limit the availability of rental options until people buy again. I doubt they are going to allow Netflix or any company the right to stream movies until they are on the $5 discount rack at Walmart, and then they are going to charge them a small fortune. I don't see the future of Netflix to be very bright, and I think that eventually MPAA will bribe lobby congress enough to get copyright laws changed to outlaw the likes of Redbox.

 

[dwell]

Yes, Hastings knows that mail order DVD/BR rental industry is dead. Redbox is going to kill them. There is a Redbox on every dam corner now, and Blockbuster is getting in the game now, soon ever store you go to will have a DVD/BR kiosk with the most recent releases. It has a lower perceived cost, and the bonus of instant gratification.
So, Hastings is taking actions to limit the liability of keeping that branch of the company open, while giving the streaming side the ability to keep growing.

Except there are streaming options on "every corner" now too. Amazon, NBC, Hulu, HBO GO, XFinity, UVerse, Walmart/Vudu, Dish/Blockbuster.

Netflix was the only game in town a while back but now it's a crowded playing field and Netflix has to bid for content with the lot of them.

 

[manly]

Yes, Hastings knows that mail order DVD/BR rental industry is dead. Redbox is going to kill them. There is a Redbox on every dam corner now, and Blockbuster is getting in the game now, soon ever store you go to will have a DVD/BR kiosk with the most recent releases. It has a lower perceived cost, and the bonus of instant gratification.
So, Hastings is taking actions to limit the liability of keeping that branch of the company open, while giving the streaming side the ability to keep growing.

I conceded they may have strategic reasons to do this, but that's no consolation to the customer. If anything, the order is botched. If they had split the company and simultaneously hiked the price, it makes more sense.

Hastings' mea culpa just reminds subscribers why they were pissed off 2 months ago. It's like the original price hike when they tried to finesse an explanation as "don't think of it as 60% more, think of it as 20% less if you only want discs". One message it sends is that they think subscribers are stupid, which is worse than no explanation.

This is not true, bandwidth has peaked and is now going down fast. ISPs are starting to throttle bandwidth speeds and implement download limits, hitting us with the double whammy in order to avoid upgrading their infrastructure and to encourage the use of their own services. If we don't get a strong version of Net-Neutrality we are doomed to being the slow backwater of the internet community as each ISP throttles everything on the net that they don't own.

are you serious? FiOS was a breakthrough x years ago, and the cable companies have been playing catch-up. 3 Mbps used to be excellent, but now it's the standard tier for cable broadband. Wireless 4G (when it truly arrives) will be a big leap forward, monthly caps not-withstanding. Broadband is not an industry that will stand still for a decade. I do agree that throughput increases with firm caps is absolutely inane going forward.

The movie studios are not willing to give up on DVD/BR sales. Your own words tell us why. They have gotten $500 from you, and I bet you have bought a DVD/BR recently, and will again in the future. The studio's plan for the future is to continue to limit the availability of rental options until people buy again. I doubt they are going to allow Netflix or any company the right to stream movies until they are on the $5 discount rack at Walmart, and then they are going to charge them a small fortune. I don't see the future of Netflix to be very bright, and I think that eventually MPAA will bribe lobby congress enough to get copyright laws changed to outlaw the likes of Redbox.

Agreed that he just proved the studios business model is superior for them.