Did Netflix really mess up?

[badger]

NP and I were thrilled when they went to an opt-out service allowing you to just do the streaming thing without waiting in the mail for your next disc. We immediately dropped the through-mail service and went with stream-only service, saving some money each month off the diminished monthly fee.

It turns out that something slipped by me when Netflix CEO said that because their stock has tanked ever since that move and a move to bring tons more stuff to steaming, they have to raise rates.

Well, the Netflix CEO is now saying he messed up. (http://www.kitv.com/r/29227012/detail.html) Apparently a major drop in subscriptions after such an annoucement does not inspire confidence. :D

And they're splitting their service and renaming the by-mail to... QWIKSTER?!?!?!?!! wtf.

Link (http://www.kitv.com/r/29226599/detail.html)

They are adding video games (DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEFLY OR BLOCKBUSTER FOR VIDEO GAMES VIA MAIL, TRUST ME)and bracing for the re-launch of Blockbuster's service, since Dish Network just bought them and plans to be a Netflix competitor again... and there's also tons of competition from Hulu and other services out there for customers as well.

Remember when Netflix was just beating everyone and their stock and subscription numbers were skyrocketing? It seems like this latest move by the CEO is almost a nail in his coffin. Not necessarily Netflix's coffin, but his, definitely. They have done nothing but eff up lately, it seems.

[GDC]

I am about sick of Netflix.

[sooner ngintunr]

I dropped them.

[MsProudSooner]

I've had Netflix since my daughter bought me a blu-ray player last Christmas. I have really enjoyed it the online options. I used to have Blockbuster mail order and Netflix seems to receive DVDs I send them back quicker and send new ones to me quicker. I don't know what my options are if Netflix goes down the tubes.

[OUDoc]

I just got rid of Netflix DVD's and kept the $7.99 streaming. I can rent DVD's for $1.99 locally. We only rent 2-3 movies/month anyway. Their new pricing is not a good deal unless you rent more than that.

[Sooner Tri]

Cancelled my service after the price increase. Haven't missed it.

[badger]

NP and I have not missed the occasional blu ray disc showing up in the mail. We often forgot to put more on the list. They sometimes didn't have new releases or we'd forget to watch em anyway :D

I am not trying to sell you all on video games or anything, but the ESPN feature on Xbox Live is awesome. We watched Sooner highlights and Sooner videos that we didn't even know ESPN did (RB and LJ talking about passing routes while on ESPN's campus, for example). Then, we watched the World Juggling League championships as kids juggling clubs tried to take out each other's fingers to make them stop juggling and LOL'd. A lot. Seriously, ESPN does JUGGLING now?!?!?!?!?!

[achiro]

We'll probably cancel the dvd option. We normally watch new releases in other ways so only do the occasional random movie through them because it was included in the membership. It may end up sitting by the tv for a month before we take the time to watch it though.

Badg, why no gamefly? We've not had any issue with it except slow turn around sometimes but that's comparing it to netflix.

[yermom]

what i can't stream, i download :O

i'm thinking that their business model wouldn't scale, or they got so big that their contracts weren't big enough to warrant letting them take so much business from the studios, and they were going to have to start paying more to get and/or keep content

[badger]

Badg, why no gamefly? We've not had any issue with it except slow turn around sometimes but that's comparing it to netflix.

I finally got fed up when after waiting about a month, they still had not sent any of the 20 games on my Q, many of which were not rare, new releases.

So, I tried Blockbuster's video game service, to find that they offered no new releases until three months after they were out... but they were uber fast in sending games, so there was there. Then, after awhile, I found that it really wasn't worth the cost and dropped it.

Gamefly is absolutely awful about sending games at the top of your Q if you're a longtime customer. They definitely take you for granted and have jacked up their rates several times over during my subscription, so I finally said "eff it, I'm trying blockbuster."

[pphilfran]

It looks like they are splitting off the dvd service into a new stand alone business...

[Penguin]

Their streaming service is garbage. Hundreds of movies and nothing worth watching. Once, we decided to watch Clash of the Titans, until we realized that their version was some made for TV BS. I canceled after less than a week.


Nowadays, I only do Redbox. Never been disappointed with them.

[Lott's Bandana]

I don't mind all this. I like Netflix and use both services. CEO explanation, while poorly executed, makes sense to me. The streaming doesn't have many good titles, even less since they announced the split. (they removed a great deal of their streaming inventory then)

What I don't get is Qwixter? That is absurd name. Couldn't they come up with Qwikflix or QuickFlix or FlixKwik or something with Flix in the title?

They are on probation now with me, and it isn't even double secret.

[NormanPride]

But isn't double secret worse than regular probation?

[Lott's Bandana]

Yes.

Consider my probation flaccid-ish.

[NormanPride]

If Netflix added pr0n, I bet you could handle that problem. Though some of the foreign flicks are pretty steamy.

[Lott's Bandana]

If Netflix added pr0n, I bet you could handle that problem. Though some of the foreign flicks are pretty steamy.


If they got rid of their "Recently Watched" list, they'd make more $.

[NormanPride]

Yeah, I mean what's the point of that? If you've seen it recently you probably don't want to watch it again... Unless you're working your way through a TV series.

[Lott's Bandana]

Netflix has been hammered for YEARS on this very subject.

They continue to respond by saying this remains so that parents can monitor what their kids have been streaming.

Of course, this works both ways, kids can see what their parents watch too. This creates quite a bit of consternation, obviously.

[NormanPride]

Yes. Why not just keep a history in a place only accessible by password? And off the main freaking screen? I mean, the parents are paying for it, so they should ideally have access to account information and such.

I don't want baj to know I watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

[yermom]

you also can't make different profiles for streaming

lame.

[RacerX]

I wish there were parental controls per device.