Netflix Now Tone-Deaf on Public Perception

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I'm not saying that Netflix couldn't care less about you cancelling your account over the recent price hikes...crap, who am I kidding? Netflix couldn't care less if you are upset.

"Some subscribers will cancel Netflix or downgrade their Netflix plans," the company said in a letter to investors after it issued its second-quarter earnings report. "We expect most to stay with us because each of our $7.99 plans is an incredible value." Just a few paragraphs below that, Netflix said that while the customer backlash could hurt the company's financial performance in the current quarter, it could also help the company generate unprecedented revenue in the fourth quarter. Netflix said during that period, it could see for the first time in company history a $1 billion in quarterly revenue.
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Another company who thinks people don't care. One of these days, they'll get a rude suprise and people WILL say enough is enough.
 
I wonder what it would take to get everyone in the US to cancel their subscription for a couple of months.
 
I "love" the sense of entitlement that people feel about anything Internet related. Netflix is a company, a FOR PROFIT company, that is providing a service. They've looked at trends, usage, costs and have made adjustments accordingly. $8.00 a month for streaming? Pretty damn good deal when you think about it. I pay $10 now for streaming plus a DVD, that I never watch.. the current DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about a month.

It's not as bad as everyone thinks.
 
I downgraded. I cancelled the streaming.

Thinking about getting Amazon Prime for a year so I can get their instant action movies instead.
 
Whomever is behind the media-campaign designed to hurt Netflix's PR (movie studios? MPAA?) are doing a damn good job.
 
TechLarry said:
Another company who thinks people don't care. One of these days, they'll get a rude suprise and people WILL say enough is enough.
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And when they do that, we will get absolutely nothing. Like it or not, Netflix is leading the streaming revolution. Their prices aren't caused by their own devious schemes, but by the media companies who refuse to realize that it is 2011. Without Netflix, you will at best be stuck with Amazon Prime, and it is possible for the market to fracture so much that media companies start making their own services. Think Steam vs. Origin, just with every two bit gaming company having their own platform. Of course we all know this will just lead to piracy if there isn't a one stop fits all place like Netflix, but they are greedy morons who couldn't figure out reality if it slapped them in the face.
 
Considering what they pay the studios for the content they have , I still don't think its entirely unreasonable.

Instant streaming is still cheap as shit compared to a full fledged content provider like Cable or Sat.
 
Godmachine said:
Considering what they pay the studios for the content they have , I still don't think its entirely unreasonable.

Instant streaming is still cheap as shit compared to a full fledged content provider like Cable or Sat.
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That all depends on where and what you eat. :D
 
somecallmeTim said:
I "love" the sense of entitlement that people feel about anything Internet related. Netflix is a company, a FOR PROFIT company, that is providing a service. They've looked at trends, usage, costs and have made adjustments accordingly. $8.00 a month for streaming? Pretty damn good deal when you think about it. I pay $10 now for streaming plus a DVD, that I never watch.. the current DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about a month.

It's not as bad as everyone thinks.
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Exactly.

Besides, they are likely just preparing for inevitable cost increases when their contracts with the studios come up for renewal in the next couple of years. I remember reading that they had a phenomenal licensing deal signed back before anyone thought streaming movies online was going to be big. when it comes up for renewal, it will likely be much more expensive.

Either way, for me it winds up being a savings. I never used the physical disk aspect of my plan. Now its ever so slightly cheaper with just the streaming portion.
 
My problem with Netflix is that it seems like the streaming service has gotten worse since they came out with it. I currently have 14 movies that used to be available for instant, but no longer are. I have the 2 DVD at-a-time + streaming plan, and had started to just look at the streaming as a bonus, since so many movies are only available on DVDs now anyway. Now they essentially want to increase the price for a service that doesn't deliver as much as it used to? They'll be losing my mothly contribution to their profits...
While they are a private company and have the right to set their prices as they see fit, this is also a free market (essentially) and I have the right not to give them my money anymore. I have the feeling that a lot of other existing customers feel the same as I do...
 
I agree $8 ea for both streaming and 1 movie rental isn't so bad.

Would be nice if there was a bundle price though.

Each person needs to make up their own mind if its worth it to them. I know I am slowly running out of TV shows on streaming that I want to watch, may just bumb up the dvd plan and wait for better content.

I also thing people are right that licensing cost will sky-rocket for netflix, media will think its a big cash cow and charge too much. They will also launch their own crap to get 100% of the end user money...

Eventually just like with cable/sat they will find its better to just license out the content and at what price it is truely worth.

Now netflix ceo has said he doesn't want to replace cable... and streaming was supposed to be supplemental... if that is the case why are they splitting the service? I have no clue.

If netflix does move to have most content available, they will have to start a tiered pricing service, negotiate per view or per sub licensing (if they don't already), and probably add commercials.

Its is foolish to think you can get more content for 80-90% less cost then cable/sat. While I agree sat and cable have had it good for many years, 80-90% cost reduction is NOT going to fly no matter how much people want it to.

Honestly I would be VERY happy to get tons of content, no commercials for about the same price I am paying cable/sat now. That is a WIN in of itself.
 
Netflix definitely hit a wall, which is why their streaming options have been on the stagnant side lately. HBO flat out refuses to provide any content to any provider unless they require the user to pay a separate fee to get it, so they've been digging their heels in pretty good. All the other companies are really hesitant to provide their A list content when they know it'll cut into their DVD sales, for movies and TV shows alike. I'm sad to see the price increase, but I have an internal clock set two two months to see new content worthy of the price hike before I ragequit.
 
Netflix lets me give my Wife her Anime addiction while I raid (WoW) 3 nights a week. While I'm not happy losing the DVD, I have to say that the recent DVD's i rented were all scratched.

Their attitude only makes them look stupid though. They need to spin it as a benefit to the customer and actually show where the money is going instead of acting like we were getting this amazing deal, and still are.

Honestly, they need to hire some of Apple's PR. They do the best at spinning new releases of software and hardware that have less features as something even more magical and wonderful.
 
HAQattaq said:
Thinking about getting Amazon Prime for a year so I can get their instant action movies instead.
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The Amazon Prime Instant Video movie selection isn't that great. (but the TV selection's not bad) I wouldn't get Prime solely for the videos, and you'd have to order frequently to make the membership cost-effective.
 
Screw Netflix. I got went to Redbox this morning and rented Source Code on Blu-ray for $1.50. How long would it take to get that from Netflix? 2 months?
 
I'm 50/50 Stream/Blu-ray & DVD.

I always get the disc for movies with good soundtracks and/or good sound effects. No reason not to after spending $$ on decent 5.1. I'll stream the more obscure, older movies. Also stream regular TV shows. Unfortunately, after being a customer for over 3 years, there isn't much left to watch. Especially since there is such a delay in getting new movies. I'm at the point where I have 2 movies and 1 TV show in my queue. I just can't find much else.

As much as I liked my time with Netflix, it just isn't worth it anymore. I'll probably go Amazon Prime and add to my blu-ray collection when sales hit.
 
somecallmeTim said:
I "love" the sense of entitlement that people feel about anything Internet related. Netflix is a company, a FOR PROFIT company, that is providing a service. They've looked at trends, usage, costs and have made adjustments accordingly. $8.00 a month for streaming? Pretty damn good deal when you think about it. I pay $10 now for streaming plus a DVD, that I never watch.. the current DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about a month.

It's not as bad as everyone thinks.
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This is spot on. Who the hell wants to ship DVD's back and forth, seriously?
 
eldertru said:
Netflix lets me give my Wife her Anime addiction while I raid (WoW) 3 nights a week. While I'm not happy losing the DVD, I have to say that the recent DVD's i rented were all scratched.

Their attitude only makes them look stupid though. They need to spin it as a benefit to the customer and actually show where the money is going instead of acting like we were getting this amazing deal, and still are.

Honestly, they need to hire some of Apple's PR. They do the best at spinning new releases of software and hardware that have less features as something even more magical and wonderful.
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Actually we are getting a deal, it's just not as good a deal as it was.

I have the streaming only plan so it's not an issue for me but it sad how easily people get butt hurt these days.
 
TechLarry said:
Another company who thinks people don't care. One of these days, they'll get a rude suprise and people WILL say enough is enough.
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All the more reason to cancel them entirely now.

Service goes first, expect support to follow, then watch the
bottom line decline.

They just dont get it...yet...but they will.:rolleyes:
 
somecallmeTim said:
I "love" the sense of entitlement that people feel about anything Internet related. Netflix is a company, a FOR PROFIT company, that is providing a service. They've looked at trends, usage, costs and have made adjustments accordingly. $8.00 a month for streaming? Pretty damn good deal when you think about it. I pay $10 now for streaming plus a DVD, that I never watch.. the current DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about a month.

It's not as bad as everyone thinks.
Click to expand...

In this economy you cannot expect people to be happy about
a 60% rate increase and continue as if nothing is changing.
If a family wants a movie or food on the table, they will
choose food first, guaranteed.

Watch for competitiors to step in and take them out
for such a foolish move on there part.
 
mjcutri said:
My problem with Netflix is that it seems like the streaming service has gotten worse since they came out with it. I currently have 14 movies that used to be available for instant, but no longer are. I have the 2 DVD at-a-time + streaming plan, and had started to just look at the streaming as a bonus, since so many movies are only available on DVDs now anyway. Now they essentially want to increase the price for a service that doesn't deliver as much as it used to? They'll be losing my mothly contribution to their profits...
While they are a private company and have the right to set their prices as they see fit, this is also a free market (essentially) and I have the right not to give them my money anymore. I have the feeling that a lot of other existing customers feel the same as I do...
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As I see it, the streaming service is actually getting cheaper. $3 per month cheaper. Before I was forced to pay for a DVD plan I didn't want.

So, for me this is an improvement.

As far as their catalog goes, the only titles that have disappeared since Netflix launched their streaming service were the titles from the Criterion Collection. Granted, this is a pretty long list, but they only lost it because Criterion Collection signed a streaming exclusivity deal with Hulu Plus, thus excluding Netflix, its not as if there was some sinister plan.

If anything, the problem is the studios, which - while in death throws over the shrinking of their traditional business models (theaters, physical media sales and rentals and TV licensing rights) - are trying to sabotage streaming media as much as possible.

The problem I see going forward is more splintering like the Hulu deal that excluded Netflix above. For the streaming services to be wroth anything (at least to me) they need to be a one stop shop for ALL titles. If I am going to be forced to sign up with one streaming plan for one studio with their partner, and another streaming plan with the partner of another studio, then it ceases to be convenient and cost effective.

If a studio wants to license their content to one streaming service, they should have to license it to all streaming services.

For now, I'm sticking with Netflix streaming services as they have the best offerings, but if things splinter more to the point where I can never find what I want to watch, I may just cancel all together. This doesn't mean I'll go back to physical media renting/buying or watching movie channels or going to the theaters. Personally i'd rather just stop watching movies all together. I have better things to do with my time.

I know there are some movie buffs for whom films are very important. That's not the case for me. I watch movies when I'm bored and there is nothing else to do (which increasingly doesn't happen very often). If it ceases to be convenient with any title I want to watch at my fingertips without leaving my home and without paying an additional sum per title or if I have to actually plan to go to a theater, then I'll just not watch movies at all. I always have my backlog of DVR'ed daily Shows to go through, and I can always play some more Counter-Strike (which has the amazing benefit of being absolutely free to play after the initial investment of buying the game many years ago)

This doesn't mean that I'll go back
 
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Monkey God said:
Whomever is behind the media-campaign designed to hurt Netflix's PR (movie studios? MPAA?) are doing a damn good job.
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The person behind all this is Reed Hastings.


Just out of curiosity (this is intended for everyone), what OTHER services / bill would you take a 60% hike on and still defend the company?
 
Saturn_V said:
The Amazon Prime Instant Video movie selection isn't that great. (but the TV selection's not bad) I wouldn't get Prime solely for the videos, and you'd have to order frequently to make the membership cost-effective.
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Thanks

I was gettting 2 DVDs at a time from Netflix and looked at the streaming video as an added bonus. I'm not willing to pay extra each month for streaming service I may or may not use. I thought Amazon Prime had a better (newer) selection than Netflix but when you dig into it, Amazon's new shows are not free with a Prime account.

My new Vizio TV has the Netflix, Vudu, Hulu and Amazon widgets built right into it so getting content to me isn't an issue. I should just cancel Netflix altogether and just pay per movie again:confused: since my house seems to only sit down for 2-3 movies a month...
 
Finally some objective thoughts in response to a Netflix article. The initial disdain for Netflix was inevitable since people were getting charged more, and that is always bad. Now that everyone who is going to jump ship has, the rest who still find it a good value are still using. I have always thought it was a great deal and will stay with one disc and streaming. Netflix is a for profit company but I think they know they walk a fine line being the innovator in this space with their membership not having to many options versus the likes of Amazon coming into the space.
 
Morazl said:
This is spot on. Who the hell wants to ship DVD's back and forth, seriously?
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I do. I have streamed maybe 3 movies in the last year. But I get at least 3-4 disks per week.

I'm canceling my sub completely. I have a store locally that is renting BluRays for $1 if you only keep the disc a single night.
 
msny said:
In this economy you cannot expect people to be happy about
a 60% rate increase and continue as if nothing is changing.
If a family wants a movie or food on the table, they will
choose food first, guaranteed.
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I really doubt the majority of Netflix subscribers are agonizing between paying the Netflix rate hike or buying Hamburger Helper fixings for a family of four.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037555375 said:
As far as their catalog goes, the only titles that have disappeared since Netflix launched their streaming service were the titles from the Criterion Collection. Granted, this is a pretty long list, but they only lost it because Criterion Collection signed a streaming exclusivity deal with Hulu Plus, thus excluding Netflix, its not as if there was some sinister plan.
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because I was curious, I went through the list to see what I might be missing now that its gone.

I sorted by year and started at 1978, as I have never seen a film from before 1978 that I thought didn't suck. I went through today, and came up with only 12 titles I had even heard of. 5 of those I had no interest in seeing :p
 
somecallmeTim said:
I "love" the sense of entitlement that people feel about anything Internet related. Netflix is a company, a FOR PROFIT company, that is providing a service. They've looked at trends, usage, costs and have made adjustments accordingly. $8.00 a month for streaming? Pretty damn good deal when you think about it. I pay $10 now for streaming plus a DVD, that I never watch.. the current DVD has been sitting on the shelf for about a month.

It's not as bad as everyone thinks.
Click to expand...

I "love" whenever there is a thread about a price increase someone immediately gets in here and starts spouting off about the "sense of entitlement." I am a person, a FOR PROFIT person, that is providing Netflix revenue. I looked at trends, usage, costs and options to move to Netflix competitors and similar services and made a permanent adjustment to cancel accordingly. A 60% price jack (after repeated price jackings) with no bundle option to reduce the cost? Pretty shitty deal when you think about it. I pay $18 now and soon I will pay $0.

Netflix stock is down 10% today. It's as bad as everyone thinks.

:rolleyes:
 
If Netflix actually had the movies I wanted on HD streaming, then I would keep them. Also, if they actually kept movies around for a while, I would keep them. Their selection is haphazard at best, when it comes to something being available on HD streaming. For example, having all the Star Trek movies they are split across availabilities (ie. some DVD mail only, DVD stream, Blu-Ray Mail only, HD stream) and they are not all HD stream. No point really.
 
Katalysis said:
I "love" whenever there is a thread about a price increase someone immediately gets in here and starts spouting off about the "sense of entitlement." I am a person, a FOR PROFIT person, that is providing Netflix revenue. I looked at trends, usage, costs and options to move to Netflix competitors and similar services and made a permanent adjustment to cancel accordingly. A 60% price jack (after repeated price jackings) with no bundle option to reduce the cost? Pretty shitty deal when you think about it. I pay $18 now and soon I will pay $0.

Netflix stock is down 10% today. It's as bad as everyone thinks.

:rolleyes:
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My thoughts exactly! Nice post.
 
I'm not upset by Netflix rental rate increase. I believe their rates are being increased by content providers, who are scared by the company's success.
 
Katalysis said:
I "love" whenever there is a thread about a price increase someone immediately gets in here and starts spouting off about the "sense of entitlement." I am a person, a FOR PROFIT person, that is providing Netflix revenue. I looked at trends, usage, costs and options to move to Netflix competitors and similar services and made a permanent adjustment to cancel accordingly. A 60% price jack (after repeated price jackings) with no bundle option to reduce the cost? Pretty shitty deal when you think about it. I pay $18 now and soon I will pay $0.

Netflix stock is down 10% today. It's as bad as everyone thinks.

:rolleyes:
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It's your money and you can do with it as you will.

All the whining is - however - just silly.

We all knew that the low prices Netflix had on streaming content couldn't last.

For those that used both the streaming and disk based services, this is a 60% increase. For those like me, who only ever used the streaming services its a 30% price decrease. :p
 
Zarathustra[H];1037555375 said:
As far as their catalog goes, the only titles that have disappeared since Netflix launched their streaming service were the titles from the Criterion Collection.
Click to expand...
Bullshit.

They regularly have movies that list when they will stop streaming it. One reason why I gave up on them.
 
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