In one of the more boneheaded moves in the entertainment industry, Netflix today announced that they were splitting membership plans DVD and streaming only memberships. The net result, however, is a higher membership cost to continue with the same access you currently have.
It's hard to fully blame Netflix for this turn of events. Netflix is at the mercy of the major Hollywood studios, who seem to be stuck in 1999 when it comes to digital distribution. They also play all kinds of games with what streaming should cost, when movies should be available, and so forth. The net result is an incredible patchwork quilt of movie availability that is unparalelled in any other entertainment industry, as I have ranted before about.
Regardless of those factors, however, Netflix's move is incredibly tone-deaf. Facing pressure from RedBox on the physical media front and Amazon Prime on the digital front, Netflix's sudden announcement will be a bombshell, regardless of its customer base. At the minimum this should have quietly leaked over a couple months for customers to get used to the idea and for the buzz to die down around it. Coming out without warning only serves as a smack in the face.
Not surprisingly the internet is lit up with opposition to the plan - most Netflix early-adopters are also heavy social media users. I'm interested in a) how Netflix will officially respond to the critcism and b) how Amazon and other Netflix competitors will take advantage of the hue and cry. That Prime membership is looking better and better all the time.
RSS
I read this email twice when it showed up in my inbox. I am choosing one or the other, not both. <br /><br />This COULD work in their favor as folks more and more are choosing between cable and Netflix/Hulu options. I have at least three personal friends with children that have all abandoned cable/FiOS in favor of On-Demand media. Our monthly service fees continue to rise and as people become more money conscious and tech savvy via social media, the more they are apt to make the change.