Like to Stream AND Get Discs Via Netflix? Prepare to Bend Over and Take It In The Wallet

Photo by Ross Catrow via Flickr

Your days of enjoying a combo plan of getting a disc or two via those red envelopes in the mail and streaming content from California-based Netflix are numbered, kids. Starting September 1, the popular site is implementing separate plans for streaming and physical disc borrowing.

This move is "to better reflect the costs of each and to give our members a choice," explains Netflix on their blog.

Uhm, really? If you, like so many of us, are enjoying the $9.99 a month unlimited streaming and one-disc-at-a-time plan, if you'd like to continue enjoying such a set-up, get ready to nearly double what you pay:

[Netflix's] current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming), for $7.99 a month.

Yeah, that's nearly $16 to have your disc and stream some, too.

"We think $7.99 is a terrific value for our unlimited streaming plan and $7.99 a terrific value for our unlimited DVD plan," enthuses Netflix. "We hope one, or both, of these plans makes sense for our members and their entertainment needs."

This obviously makes sense for Netflix, who realized that doing the mailed discs for a $2 add-on to the $7.99 streaming was cutting them out of some bucks. However, for the customer who enjoys streaming, but supplements the sometimes paltry offerings with items only available on disc, this is a big f-you. The trouble is, so many of us have come to rely on how we use Netflix--so how many of us will say "f-you" back and close our accounts?

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By Lindsay William-Ross in News on July 12, 2011 1:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Mark King

HERE is my new plan....."CANCEL NETFLIX" ***** !!! DONE !

braunaldinho

I don't know why NF doesn't just come out and place the blame squarely on the movie studios. They have a huge part in this happening also.

Gfwbc Church

no this is greed pure and simple,they were already very profitable and figured why not double our money.......THE HOGS GET BIGGER.....THE PIGS GET SMALLER

misslisagfrench

i have a streaming only account and that price stays the same...i was leaving dvd's laying around unwatched way too long to keep paying for it.

Gino De Young

I'd pay the $16 for unlimited streaming of their full catalog, or even just a better catalog. I don't want to have to think about this. I want to go to Netflix on my Apple TV, find the movie (instead of a disappointment that it's not available), and sit in front of some happily mind-numbing entertainment for a while. Whoever does this will win.

Keith Hammons

Redbox and *flashback* Blockbuster for me... The price hike just made me reflect on how infrequently I really use the service I shell $10/mo out for.

Juan Carlos Salas

This is bogus, if I have to choose one or the other, I rather have the DVD. The online selection can also be available on DVD but not vice-versa, from what I've noticed. Plus, the streaming isn't BluRay quality, which I would rather enjoy with the physical disc.

khagler

As a customer who uses streaming but has never and will never want an actual DVD, I took this as good news. No doubt they looked at the numbers and decided that enough people wanted only one or the other but not both that it was worth risking the ire of people who wanted both.

Stephanie

As a small business owner I totally understand the need to raise prices sometimes but it's totally tacky for them to market it like, "oh yeah, this will meet more of our customer's needs," when that's total BS. They need to raise prices, for whatever reason, so they're giving the shaft to their existing customers who like streaming and DVDs... which seems like most people I know who use Netflix. And frankly, I'm a little irked too, because it's one more way we are getting nickled and dimed. sigh. I love getting Netflix streaming content on our Apple TV but the selection just isn't good enough to rely on it entirely.

ShakinBoots

One disc out at a time through snail mail sounds pretty stingy to me. Who went to Blockbuster and only rented one dvd at a time? Nobody. Its not realistic.

If they increase the number of dvds you can have out at one time, that would help make the plans more appealing to customers and Netflix can still make their extra $$$ through separating streaming/physical disc plans.

quoteunquote

yeah but its still $16 for unlimited movies for a month (which sometimes just sit on your coffee table unwatched) not that i'm psyched to be shelling out more dough for anything but this isnt really something to cry to mommy about. they gotta make money somewhere and this is just one less giant starbucks coffee a month for most people. If you're pinching pennies just wait till your local public library gets the dvd and borrow it, for free.

their streaming does leave some things to be desired though, and if they dont show improvement there, they might be shooting themselves in the foot once people start dropping that plan.

juliagriswold

yeah... this COULD be a great deal if they didn't keep pulling stuff from streaming. We're getting fewer and fewer selections available instantly, which makes a lot more sense now.

Laura Lutrell

Yeah, this is my only problem - inconsistent availability of what's on streaming. For a month or two they'll have something then they'll take it down, hopefully they step up their game with the change in pricing...