Netflix Raises DVD, Streaming Plan Price by 60 Percent

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc will raise by 60 percent the monthly price of a plan that lets subscribers watch unlimited movies and video online and get DVDs by mail.Customers who want both services will pay $7.99 per month to rent one DVD at a time plus $7.99 for unlimited streaming, or a total of $15.98 per month. The previous cost of this plan was $9.99 a month.
"We are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans to better reflect the costs of each and to give our members a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan or the option to subscribe to both," Netflix Vice President of Marketing Jessie Becker wrote in a company blog post.
"Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs," Becker wrote.
Netflix announced the new prices on Tuesday. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Unlimited DVD-only plans will cost $7.99 for one at a time or $9.99 for two at a time.
The changes take effect immediately for new subscribers, and in September for current customers.
The Los Gatos, California-based company started in the United States as a mail-in DVD service. It now offers streaming video on various devices.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine. Editing by Robert MacMillan)




http://blog.movies.yahoo.com/blog/1701-netflix-raises-dvd-streaming-plan-price-by-60-percent

so I like this that they are splitting it up.... I can't remember the last time I watched anything on netflix....

but the discs... is it capped at 2, because we have 3....

If they try to limit, I could see this as a way to slow down distribution.

I've actually been a streaming member since last year, now this sucks because not all movies are even HD quality. I will be cancelling my account. All those random animes were worth watching, along with some random foregin asian martial art flicks...

Back to redbox here I go....

I subscribe off an on to Netflix when ever there are a bunch of movies I'm interested in seeing. I currently have a streaming only plan and the only thing I watched was some Stand up comedy and some Marvel cartoons. I can understand why people are getting upset but I think I'd just go with 1 out DVD plan with Blu-ray.

[quote name='Aerc'] I can understand why people are getting upset but I think I'd just go with 1 out DVD plan with Blu-ray.[/QUOTE]

That's what I'm doing. I like having streaming available, but I don't use it enough to pay the extra price for it. So I'll just drop down to 1 disc only with Blu-ray for now.

I'll consider adding streaming down the road if they improve the selection and start getting more new releases. I don't watch a lot of TV shows or older movies these days, so the current streaming seldom gets used other than for the odd documentary etc. here or there.

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265701
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299171

Ha, I saw this news and was all set to cancel my service because I don't watch enough DVDs to make $16/month worth it, but since they're actually separating the DVD-only plan from the streaming (which I never use), this actually works in my favor. Score!

Can someone show me a link to their plans that have prices and what you get in them? I was looking on their site but I must be blind or they are hidden because I cant find them.

The new plans are:

Unlimited Streaming only, no discs $7.99
1 DVD, no streaming $7.99 ($9.99 with Blu Ray)
2 DVDs, no streaming $11.99 ($14.99 with Blu Ray)
1 DVD, Unlimited streaming $15.98 ($17.98 with Blu Ray)
2 DVDs, Unlimited streaming $19.98 ($22.98 with Blu Ray)
3 DVDs, Unlimited streaming $23.98 ($27.98 with Blu Ray)
4 DVDs, Unlimited streaming $29.98 ($34.98 with Blu Ray)

Click to expand...

There was also a 1 DVD plan for $4.99 (limit 2 rentals/month).

I dropped DVDs from my plan months ago, after I found I never get around to watching them. So this doesn't change anything for me.
It's unfortunate that they're hiking the prices in general, but I hope we at least start getting better content for it, since money is the only barrier to that.

[quote name='looploop']
It's unfortunate that they're hiking the prices in general, but I hope we at least start getting better content for it, since money is the only barrier to that.[/QUOTE]

It's not the only barrier. Studios don't want to give them things that still sell well on DVD/Blu Ray.

If something is available to stream anytime, people are less likely to buy it. Disc rentals don't have as much of an impact since you have to wait a few days to get one, unlike streaming where you can watch it any time you want just like if you owned it on disc.

That's why there's not a lot of new releases on streaming. That's when discs sell the most, so studios mainly give them older movies that aren't selling well anymore anyway.

This was inevitable. In 5 years time, they'll be charging what cable companies are right now.

I'll either cancel altogether or get rid of streaming come Sept. The library of streaming content isn't with what they are asking for yet.

[quote name='dmaul1114']The new plans are:[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info. Thats kind of high for me really so Ill pass. I was interested in trying again but thats to high for me. Movies are my main interest and most of those arent so mainstream, I like getting the dvds.

I quit using netflix 3 or 4 years ago but was considering trying again. I just hated that I would say return a movie on a mon and they wouldnt report it recieved until thur or fri and I wouldnt get the next one till following monday. And hell the return address was literally like a hours drive from my house. They wouldnt return emails, no one would follow up so I got disgusted and quit.

My GF and I were already considering either reducing or eliminating our DVD option since we hardly get around to them anyway. Looks like Netflix is forcing our hand here.

[quote name='gargus']Thanks for the info. Thats kind of high for me really so Ill pass. I was interested in trying again but thats to high for me. Movies are my main interest and most of those arent so mainstream, I like getting the dvds.

I quit using netflix 3 or 4 years ago but was considering trying again. I just hated that I would say return a movie on a mon and they wouldnt report it recieved until thur or fri and I wouldnt get the next one till following monday. And hell the return address was literally like a hours drive from my house. They wouldnt return emails, no one would follow up so I got disgusted and quit.[/QUOTE]



Well, with the new prices the disc only plans are now cheaper.

Before the lowest unlimited plan was $9.99 ($11.99 with blu-ray) for one disc out at a time plus unlimited streaming, and now you could get that plan without the streaming for $7.99 ($9.99 for bluray). So it's a better deal than before for people like you.

I've never had any problems with getting throttled myself--I mail a movie on Monday, I always get a new one on Wednesday for example. But I have heard they still throttle very heavy users (i.e. someone on a 3 disc plan who always watches all 3 the day they get them and mails them back the next morning etc.).

But if you're just on the 1 disc plan you probably won't get throttled since you can only get through 2 discs a week anyway with the 3 day turnaround.