Netflix raises prices - a lot

[KingIsaacLinksr]

No, they haven't lost too many subscribers and there is a global market that is vast and yet to be accessed.

Except the content providers are allergic to $$. Why else wouldn't they allow all content to be accessed in the UK and Canada? 

(I know, I know, that's not the real reason but c'mon.....)

King

[Rico]

It will be a VERY long time before Netflix gets overseas.  You think contracts are complicated for a single country - especially when it comes to media distribution?  Anyway, in the meantime people continue to find "alternate" ways to view content.  What I still see is they have lost some of my business and I've been using them and suggesting them for a very long time.  No matter what the costs are, that's a problem for them as a business to lose long term members.  We'll see what happens with all this.

[X]

I'm becoming concerned about Netflix.  This move just seems...idiotic.  What sense is it to make a completely second service when everyone liked the convenience of one service?

Because they're there to make a profit for their shareholders, not to be 'convenient' for everyone else. The sooner you realise this about companies, the less disappointment you'll have to cope with in life. :)

I'll bet the shareholders are real happy that their stock has taken a nosedive past several days...just saying. 

King

Short term loss for long term gain. With most investments you have to be ready to play the long game.

But that's the question, has Netflix lost too many subscribers?  They say a million, but the recent news might have created more people quitting the service.  I have not, as streaming-only is all I've ever wanted (with better content), but some may not like 2 websites on top of the recent price hikes.

King

Let's say they lost 1 million people ... so? Have you run the math on that? They lost 1 million but 12 million decided to take the dual plan and thus they increase revenue by far more than that. Looks like winning to me. 12 million people paying 8+ bucks more a month is winning and not the Charlie Sheen re-imagined meaning of the word.

[X]

Also, it's coming sooner than you think Rico...
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-spain-uk/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/netflix-to-expand-in-europe-starting-with-spain-figaro-says.html

[Bryancd]

Proprietary video content, TV and films, is in the process of going through the same painful but inevitable distribution model change that music went through in the late 90's, early 2000 when Napster gave way to legal content sales through iTunes. The television industry won't be able to hold out forever using the traditional advertiser based model and the film industry is already under attack in foreign markets where their content isn't protected at all and is being stolen. Give them a distribution method which they can monetize and they will have no choice but to migrate to it.

Just saw what Chris posted, yeah, like I said, this is the future of Netflix and it's coming fast.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Proprietary video content, TV and films, is in the process of going through the same painful but inevitable distribution model change that music went through in the late 90's, early 2000 when Napster gave way to legal content sales through iTunes. The television industry won't be able to hold out forever using the traditional advertiser based model and the film industry is already under attack in foreign markets where their content isn't protected at all and is being stolen. Give them a distribution method which they can monetize and they will have no choice but to migrate to it.

Just saw what Chris posted, yeah, like I said, this is the future of Netflix and it's coming fast.

Especially places like Latin America where piracy is so huge.  Whether Netflix can combat that or not is still up in the air, but the movie and TV industry have little choice if they want to make $$.  Just like iTunes match, you've got to evolve or the next generation will leave you behind.

King

[Rico]

If it happens that soon, I'll be very curious what kind of catalog of films and TV shows they carry there.  In Canada, just across the border, on the same continent, their content is not so great. 

[billybob476]

Yup, each country has to make its own distribution deals.

I keep my eye on this site to know what's been released here in Canada: http://app.whatsnewonnetflix.com/

[Rico]

This is a good article and I like a lot of his points about Amazon taking over while Netflix is stumbling.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/09/21/5-things-amazon-needs-to-do-to-kill-netflix.aspx

[Feathers]

Actually, I'm not so fussed about Netflix arriving per se but rather getting access to a good streaming service. LoveFilm (an Amazon company) does stream (6,000 films/episodes against 70,000 DVD titles) but the idea of tying up the laptop for the evening by plugging it into the TV doesn't appeal. If they rolled out support for something other than the PS3 (i.e. XBox) or I bought one of the TVs or Bluray players they're tied in to, then I guess I'd give it a go for a while.

*edit* scratch that. There are some of the streaming films I'd watch but the sci-fi TV is all either from the 60s or by Gerry Anderson. I couldn't cope with that TV diet for too long!

[Poodyglitz]

Looks like Netflix was a little hasty with their re-branding:

http://socialmediatoday.com/marketmesuite/360375/netflix-fail-qwikster-twitter-handle-owned-pot-smoking-elmo

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Well, since the kid tweeted that he's going to try and sell the account, he'll probably be banned.  Twitter doesn't allow accounts to be sold for $$, as stated in the terms of service or EULA or whatever it is we "signed" ;)

King

[billybob476]

Looks like they aren't going through with it after all:

Netflix is now announcing that it will not go through with those plans after all, and that it will continue to have a combined streaming and DVD-by-mail service and offer those services both through Netflix.com. Users will continue to have one monthly bill, and their ratings and recommendations will carry over between the services as they always have.

http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-kills-qwikster/

[Bromptonboy]

Yeah I read that this morning.  Unreal. 

[Bryancd]

This is a good article and I like a lot of his points about Amazon taking over while Netflix is stumbling.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/09/21/5-things-amazon-needs-to-do-to-kill-netflix.aspx

This is the key takeaway from that article:

5. Get the tablet right
There are high hopes resting on the Amazon tablet, but I'm not among those predicting a market-beater. I believe what a tech analyst once quipped, which is that there probably isn't a tablet market, there's an iPad market. Luckily for Amazon, even on the iPad, the media consumption process is still pretty fragmented, requiring a variety of apps and subscriptions. Apple is no doubt working on removing these hurdles and unifying the media consumption experience (with iCloud an important component), and Microsoft is doing similar things with its centralization of Windows Live and Zune for the Windows Phone 7 update and upcoming hybrid OS, Windows 8.

If Amazon hopes that its tablet can be the razor that sells hundreds of millions of dollars worth of blades, it will need to make sure the hardware is hip and the experience is flawless. I'm not overly confident that will happen, given the dated looks and functionality of even the newest Kindle (and I'm a Kindle fan), but Amazon has shown that it gets constant, incremental improvement.