Alternatives to Netflix?

[Lara]

Why are they raising the prices? Are they having a problem making a profit?

I think a lot of their contracts are up for renewal and will be way costlier this time around thanks to their popularity increase. So this is a (admittedly sucky) preemptive action of sorts.

Fortunately I'm not a huge movie buff and there's plenty of TV shows left for me to enjoy, so I'm fine with being on a streaming only plan. I don't even have a blu-ray player despite being a tech geek which goes to show how many discs I watch.

[BigB08822]

The main problem is that the cost of streaming is about to skyrocket. They were, essentially, the only streaming service out there. Amazon has something but I can literally say I don't know a single person who has used them. Now more people are jumping in. Amazon wants to expand, Hulu wants in and I am sure there are many others. In other words, the movie studios now have multiple people wanting their product. That means they can demand higher prices and they have been. As contracts run out with Netflix the studios are renegotiating for much higher prices and Netflix can't bid them down, they will just go to Amazon...or Hulu...or....

It will all eventually get worked out and my guess is that most studios will work out contracts with multiple vendors (who is going to want to have a subscription to 3 different streaming sites to get all the main studios movies???) so the price wont be so severe but I bet many people will be in for a shock at the price of streaming in the coming years.

[jlai]

I realize that people don't like paying more than they were paying before, but I'm surprised that people are so upset by the price. It seems like a bargain to me unless you don't really use the service or have a bargain DVD outlet right next door. Who else is providing a comparable service for less money -- and still making a profit? Maybe we just live in an age where people expect all their entertainment for free. I'm guessing that pretty soon people will be illegally downloading movies as frequently and cavalierly as they illegally download music.

I normally watch about 4 things a month these days, and with the price increase I'm no better off than renting from Blockbuster or even renting from Itune. Especially if Starz is going away too.

[Allskate]

As contracts run out with Netflix the studios are renegotiating for much higher prices and Netflix can't bid them down, they will just go to Amazon...or Hulu...or....

Yeah. I guess the studios will raise their prices, but hopefully with multiple companies streaming there will be competition between them that brings down prices a little bit.

I normally watch about 4 things a month these days, and with the price increase I'm no better off than renting from Blockbuster or even renting from Itune. Especially if Starz is going away too.

I guess it all depends on where you live. The Blockbuster and other video stores near me have closed. (Blockbuster by mail is actually more than Netflix for one at a time.) I'd have to drive quite a distance and deal with parking in order to rent a video. Four videos per month is about two bucks per video for Netflix. I don't have red box near me. I'd probably be paying more than that at a video store even without late fees. If I want a recent release, there really isn't a cheaper option for me than Netflix. I think that's one reason the majority of people have stayed with Netflix even with the increase.

[jlai]

It's going to be a little over $4 per video next week when Netflix charges my credit card.

Anyway I haven't decided. I'll stay with them for now, but if I drop below 4 videos a month it's really isn't worth it.

[nerdycool]

.....and they have to pay royalties and technical costs for streaming.

I think paying royalties is a huge part of it. Back in April, there were some raised eyebrows when it was announced that Netflix would stream previous seasons of Mad Men, and pay Lion's Gate (the show's production company) a cool million dollars per episode. There are currently 52 episodes, and more to come in 2012.

Here are some other big deals Netflix has made within the past year for streaming royalties:
Miramax movies - 100 million
Glee, Sons of Anarchy, Ally McBeal & other FOX shows - 100-125 million
Paramount streaming rights in Canada - 10-15 million per year
Star Trek, Frasier, Twin Peaks & other CBS shows - up to 175 million a year
House of Cards original programming to start in 2012 - 100 million for a 2 year contract

[Sassafras]

I usually watch 3 movies a week. Had 2 DVDs and streaming - used the streaming for mostly foreign movies. I changed to 3 DVDs at a time and still feel it is a decent price. I use redbox once in a while when I have a freebie and DirecTV sends me a coupon for a free movie a month.

[woodstock]

I'm a little mad at netflix right now as my streaming queu had a bunch of "unavailable/saved" movies at the bottom that have now dissapeared! It was all the movies that used to be available, but then they took them off of streaming. At least they could have transferred the list over to the discs, or given me time to write them down so I could log them all into discs! Grrr.

[Lara]

http://blog.netflix.com/2011/09/expl...flections.html

[Vash01]

Most other video stores in my area have closed (Blockbuster, Hollywood video). If they were still around, I would still be paying at least $3.50 plus tax to rent a video for a few days. With Netflix at least I don't have to pay fine, so for now I will retain the membership. If it turns out I am watching just 2 movies per month, then it may be better to discontinue it for sometime at least. Toward the end of each year, until the Oscars usually I see a lot of movies in theatres. That may be a good time to put the account on hold, then restart when mostly bad movies are being released. I usually don't care for the summer movies anyway. So perhaps keeping the Netflix subscription for 6-7 months out of a year could be the solution for me.

[Amy L]

I'm not crazy about this new "Qwikster" thing. And not only because the name is stupid (though it's a big factor). I first subscribed to Netflix in 2003, and now I'm supposed to go to a whole new website because the CEO wants his famous name to be associated with streaming? I know they've been trying to dump the DVDs, but my extremely obsolete computer can't really deal with streaming that well, so that's why I chose the DVD plan instead. I watch about 10-15 DVDs per month, Reed Hastings must REALLY hate people like me!

I'm gonna go copy my queue. I never have faith in brand new websites, I just know they're gonna screw up my well thought-out and organized list.

[Sassafras]

I'm gonna go copy my queue. I never have faith in brand new websites, I just know they're gonna screw up my well thought-out and organized list.

Good idea! I'll stick with them for the foreseeable future, but with changes coming in the postal service we will have to see.

[BigB08822]

I'm not crazy about this new "Qwikster" thing. And not only because the name is stupid (though it's a big factor). I first subscribed to Netflix in 2003, and now I'm supposed to go to a whole new website because the CEO wants his famous name to be associated with streaming? I know they've been trying to dump the DVDs, but my extremely obsolete computer can't really deal with streaming that well, so that's why I chose the DVD plan instead. I watch about 10-15 DVDs per month, Reed Hastings must REALLY hate people like me!

I'm gonna go copy my queue. I never have faith in brand new websites, I just know they're gonna screw up my well thought-out and organized list.

What is Qwikster.com? Is it Canadian Netflix? I tried going but it says it is coming soon.

[tuffcaco]

Netflix is jumping the shark with this Qwikster idea. I was planning on going along with the price increase, but I am now having second thoughts. It seems like they are doing everything they can to drive customers away.

BigB08822, Qwikster is explained on the link above: http://blog.netflix.com/2011/09/expl...flections.html

[nerdycool]

What part of the name Qwikster says "movies"? Whomever was in charge of the new company name should be fired. When I hear Qwikster, I automatically think of Napster and music.

Either way, I too shall be copying my queue. It it quite lengthy and I don't want to miss anything with the change.

[dbell1]

Reminded me of Nestle Quik.

My son loves the streaming Netflix and just found an iPod app for it, so we're keeping that. I'm a fan too, but not liking the limited selection. Signed up for a free month trial of Amazon prime and then found out they give me tons of free movies & shows with it, so I'll be checking that out. Frankly, most of the netflix movies I received had skipping issues or took forever to get, so I won't miss them. We've got a RedBox within 1/4 of a mile from the house, so it's easy enough to get to.

[barbk]

Quickster -- you've got to wonder at the marketing geniuses that came up with this concept just in time to really rub it into people how much Netflix is raising their prices. Glad I don't own stock in them. Not as bad as, "New Coke," but trying.

[Vash01]

Here is an article about the separation into two businesses:

http://www.azcentral.com/business/ar...kster0919.html

At this point I am very tempted to let go of both Netflix and Quikster. I never watch the streaming; I hate watching movies on my tiny computer screen. I always watch the DVDs. If this Quikster is going to charge me a lot, I might as well dump it.

I think Netflix has made a lot of customers angry with their recent moves. Their stock dropped by $1.54 after this announcement. I won't be surprised if it drops further.

[Amy L]

The press release says the prices will stay as they are and won't increase again (yeah, right!). So the plan is that Qwikster will charge whatever the DVD plan from Netflix is charging right now. The difference is that if you have a DVD + streaming plan, it will be split into 2 separate charges between Netflix and Qwikster - - the total sum being the same as what you were already paying. Vash, if you don't stream, just get rid of that part, all you need to do is to go to your Netflix account, the various plans are detailed pretty well and you can choose what you actually use.

I think the switchover to Qwikster could be a disaster, are they just going to transfer all the account info to the new site? Or are they going to make us sign up all over again?

Plus Qwikster makes me think of buying Nestquik from Apu at the Kwik-E-Mart. It sounds like they took an entire 2 1/2 minutes to think of that dumbass name.

[nerdycool]

Their stock dropped by $1.54 after this announcement. I won't be surprised if it drops further.

Back in July, when the stocks hit about $300 per share, I had felt that maybe it was time to cash out. But then I wanted to make more money and left it there. Then the price increase news hit and the stocks dropped like a stone. I thought I would ride out the storm and hope for a rebound, but too many things are piling up against the company and the outlook isn't good. So I sold my shares today while I still could make a profit. Makes me sad since my Netflix stocks were doing so awesome not so long ago, but that's the risk I take for playing the stock market.