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Netflix drops controversial Qwikster plan

October 10, 2011

Netflix, the country’s leading movie rental business, has decided to drop their controversial plan to create two separate websites—one for DVDs and one for streaming. [LATimes]

However, a recent price increase that led to a backlash from consumers and a slide in the company’s stock price remains in place. In July, Netflix dropped a $9.99-a-month plan that let customers watch an unlimited number of movies online and rent one DVD at a time. Now subscribers who want that combination must pay $15.98 a month—$7.99 for movie streaming and $7.99 to receive discs in the mail.

“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,” Netflix announced in a press statement Monday morning. “This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.”

The Qwikster move, announced last month, seemed only to further confuse and disturb customers and investors.

Netflix, which experts say drove video stores out of business during the last decade, has been trying to stem a massive customer exodus that began last summer when officials forced customers to choose between streaming and DVDs—or pay a higher price for both.

 


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I’m still waiting for a fair use/ownership digital download. Some places have it, most do not. Until then, people will “get it off the internet” until companies wise up.


They wised up with music. I can now buy my mp3’s DRM-free from Amazon and other places. I’d like to buy my shows and movies DRM-free (mkv, hi-def, etc) for reasonable fees – i.e. half of a DVD/Blue Ray, for example.


I can’t wait to be more honest, but like in most things, honesty sometimes is a two-way street: stop gouging and join the 21st century. I envision a day where I can have my TV shows at $1 an episode, commercial-free. Just think, a million nerds who love Star Trek can fund a series by buying/subscribing at $1 an episode (that’s a $1mil/episode budget)… can go higher with more subs.


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Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon do not offer a wide assortment of movie options for those who are hearing impaired. If you can’t get the Closed Captioned movie, their services are of little value.


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Netflix used to represent cutting edge business model. Now they’ll be used as an example of how NOT to market yourselves. They blew it. Don’t know if they’ll survive if someone challenges them.


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I am thinking that old money Hollywood is at work in the background on this. The whole Netflix model is so completely foreign to them; and they witnessed the demise of the video store at the hands of Netflix. I would not be surprised at all if the price increase was a result of direct financial pressure from Hollywood. Netflix has tried everything under the sun since they announced their price increase, with the exception of lowering prices. There is something at play there that we are not seeing.


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You are correct. I work in this particular industry and ALL of the hoops that you have to jump thru are the movie studios dragging their feet in changing their business model. They want to make sure they don’t suffer the same fate as the music industry where iTunes basically takes over and can force their will on the labels.


Netflix raising prices has nothing to do with them being greedy and everything to do with being able to purchase the licensing to continue to offer their streaming business. Anyone who signed with netflix to offer streaming didn’t know how much money there was to be made and gave it up relatively cheap. Now all those contracts are coming due and they want an even bigger cut. There has now also been time for some competitors to crop up as well who may be willing to offer more.


End of the day, like usual the consumers will suffer for it. Initiatives like Ultra Violet are attempting to put *some* fair use into practice, but it is still very young and remins to be seen how well it gets implemented. Apple likely won’t be on board for it, so you’ll still have some fragmentation.


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It’s creative destruction.


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Now if we could just the govt. to see that they if they implement a bad program/law that they can just drop/reverse it.


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Hmmmm……they are the government, they are never wrong……


I like your spirit though!


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anger robot no understand sarcasm…down vote…


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Why do you always look to the government to solve your problems?


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