Posted on 09/19/2011 12:17:18 AM PDT by Borough Park
Netflix is a company in crisis. Their stock price is plunging and subscribers are abandoning them en masse, in protest of a 60 percent price increase levied against anyone who wants to retain both streaming and mail service.
So Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has come up with a fix that will likely please no one: He's split the two services into two, distinct companies, each with its own name.
Listen closely: From now on, that Criterion Edition Seven Samurai gathering dust on your coffee table for the past three months will need to be sent back to Qwikster, not Netflix. Qwikster is in charge of all your DVD-by-mail needs. Netflix will continue to be your trusted name in streaming of hundreds of TV shows and terrible movies you didn't know existed, plus the occasional decent studio release.
And why Qwikster? From Hastings' letter to subscribers, entitled, "An Explanation and Some Reflections."
We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name "Netflix" for streaming.
(Excerpt) Read more at gawker.com ...
1) Hastings never bothered to think about integrating the two new companies/websites so that customers could remain signed-up for only one service and the capability perform only one search for titles. Now, customers will have to open two accounts and can only search for DVDs on one site and streaming titles on the other, but NOT together, making the process more complicated and even redundant. His response to one customer who asked him about this was a very revealing "Ouch!"
2) It appears that Hastings is anticipating the eventual death of the DVD by mail rental business, and wanted to set up 'Qwikster' so that he would be in position for an easy sell-off. Very transparent, and upsetting for his customers.
Hastings is in deep Do-Do and posted a panicky mea culpa last night here.
And your suggestions for this alternative provider would be who?
If Reed came to the customers and explained the screws that the studio is putting to Netflix, his customer base would have shifted “the hate” to those who make the movies.
It might have something to do with the Fact that DVD rentals are akin to "Dead Tree" media. It just doesn't make sense anymore.
Vudu
AmazonPrime
Hulu
Or any host of streaming sites on the web.
Those who are not as moral as we are on FR have no problem uploading shows for everyone to watch FREE.
The studios, the networks and Netflix have shown their greed. Personally, I like Netflix just because I can get them on my PS3. But we also have a computer hooked to our plasma. I have no problem streaming YouTube for my movies.
Bingo! Anyone who didn't see this coming has not been paying attention. Streaming is the future of movie delivery. It may not be an option for those in very rural areas, but for most of the population, it is.
For new releases, pay per view, RedBox and Blockbuster kiosks will be the new norm.
You can stream fairly well from a Verizon hotspot (iPhone, aircard), so you don't need cable or satellite to do it.
We just upgraded our entertainment system recently and decided to give Netflix streaming a try (gave Netflix hard copy up years ago because we always had problems with defective DVD's). I love the streaming. Sure, you don't have the newest releases, but you can get them pay per view if you want. People complain about the lack of titles on streaming, but I beg to differ. I have watched whole TV series (Mad Men, Doctor Who, The Tudors, Pawn Stars), lots of documentaries, classic movies and many recent movies that I never got to see because we never go to the movies. There's more available in streaming than I could watch 24/7 the rest of my living days.
Streaming is a tremendous bargain. Streaming will only get better.
Even the whole package with streaming/delivery is way cheaper than taking your family to the movies once a month.
Netflix screwed up in its explanation of the change, but it shouldn't have been a surprise. The information that this was coming has been out there for months.
Hard copy DVD's are going the way of hard copy CD's. Haven't bought a CD in years.
There are other streaming options besides Netflix, but our Blu-Ray player makes Metflix really easy to access, so it's going to continue to be my choice.
When the re-merge, they can become Napster.
Keep posting those links in this thread please.
I cut Netflix last year when I found I just don’t have the time to vegetate in front of a TV any longer.
You can replace everything Netflix offers and more - for free - with a simple google search.
I agree with the value of Netflix streaming service. It’s certainly worth more than cable TV service, IMO. I find it particularly good for TV series... I have watched 5 years worth of Bones, 5 years of Stargate: Atlantis, 4 years of Psych, 5 years of Lost, 3 years of The IT Crowd, several seasons of Doctor Who, 6 years of The Dead Zone, etc., all at my own pace & convenience.
Pre-price hike, I did use the mail service for hand-to-find DVD movies... not at all the same sort of thing Redbox offers.
Amazon prime is offering 1 month free-trial, then roughly 80 a year after that. I just suspended Netflix and will use Amazon and Redbox. Heck, I may break down and go back to blockbuster(gasp!)
My thought too. Picking a name that will let people confuse you with Amway doesn't seem like a real good idea.
I have recently joined AmazonPrime but have yet to take full advantage of it.
I will check out the other two.
And check out YouTube nowadays.
We watch Judge Judy and Iron Chef on there.
There is constantly new content.
Board action isn’t a miracle. It’s a responsibility.
Board should fire this guy from a canon like the circus clown that he is.
HP’s board should fire itself. It’s completely screwed.
As the metrosexual Robin said to Batman, “Holy Unforced Errors, Why is that CEO Still Employed?”
Bad, bad idea. I’m far more likely to drop streaming in favor of Amazon Prime now, because it’s basically the same price and library size will catch up soon, plus I get the free expedited shipping from Amazon.
I’d have to do the math and see if keeping “Quickster” for DVD rental is worth it over just buying DVD sets for the old shows we’re using it to catch up on. Redbox can easily sub for new releases.
I was annoyed that my Netflix subscription, which comes through my Xbox and thus has nothing to do with DVD rental, automatically doubled in price. The company assigned me to the higher priced plan without my authorization.
I was told the free trial doesn’t include the free streaming. Do you know if that’s the case?
Thanks again, I will.
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