Yeah, it sucks but it's *still* cheaper than cable.

Bitstream and it's ilk ftw!

It's still the best entertainment deal in the universe. I can't take the wife to one lousy movie for what Netflix costs us per month, even with the increase.

I don't know why anyone has cable anymore.

Mostly I'm just pissed at Netflix for trying to pass this off as a price cut "These plans offer our lowest prices ever" when for users on the common 2-DVD unlimited + streaming plan it's a 60% increase. I get that they made assumptions about how people would combine DVDs and streaming tha turned out to be wrong and the result was unsustainable as far as they were concerned (way down in the middle of the press release), and compared to cable or even, say, a 4-DVD plan in the pre-streaming era, it's a great deal, but to start off announcing it as some great price cut is insulting. As my pappy used to say: Don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining.

I get the reason for the price cut, but the Netflix PR person who wrote the release should be fired.

I think it's more on the "unfortunate" side rather than sucking. They're being squeezed on the other end by content licensers because they're doing better than the content creators themselves. It's a shame, but it's still well worth it's price.

This is very important news. I'm glad The Stranger is going so boldly to report this. This is huge. It's on the front page of the msn site.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43729443/ns/…
The winds of change are shifting. A new Bastille Day is upon us.

It's clear they're trying to separate the business so they can evaluate demand & profitability, then phase out or separately sell off their physical disc-mailing business. Streaming scales; the labor and inventory-management costs of sending discs does not.

I'm kind of pissed that the price-change happened so abruptly, but I'll ultimately probably just eat the extra cost. I realize that $9.99 was a pretty screamin' deal for all the content I could stream, plus one rotating disc to cover obscure titles I'd otherwise have to get from Scarecrow for $4 a title. If I get 2 discs like that a month, it's still going to be worth it.

Maybe I'll just start Handbraking them to my Apple TV as soon as I get them and send them right back afterward to make up for the price difference. And cross my fingers that they're putting that money toward continuing to expand the streaming catalog, which, while greatly improved over the last few years, is still nowhere near comprehensive.

Their new user interface sucks.

@4 That was my reaction, too, but what is a PR person SUPPOSED to say? "Dude - this licensing stuff is more expensive than we thought. Can we have some more money?"

I wasn't using it much the last two months, so this merely provided me with impetus to cancel entirely.

$8 was justifiable, particularly when friends would visit for a weekend and wanted something to watch, while I could slowly work through a DVD queue. But now it'd be cheaper for me to watch individual movies through Amazon, iTunes, or Redbox, and there's no way I'd pay another $8 for their anemic streaming selection.

Time to ditch the DVDs I guess. Hulu Plus' streaming movie selection is actually getting pretty decent, so could be time to ditch Netflix all together.

I might just back to what I had...4 out + streaming which used to cost me $24.00 a month.

I love movies and that's still a bargain until they get their entire stock on streaming.

On the other hand, even if streaming content never gets to the point where you can usually find a specific title you're looking for, it seems like for their largest demographic it's not really competing with the DVD rental business - it's competing with "basic" cable TV (and probably winning). Which is to say: when someone wants to just sit down and see something mindless, rather than a specific, deliberate movie to pay attention to, Netflix streaming does just that. As long as there are fun ways to navigate the titles and intelligent recommendations (hence their million-dollar recommendation engine prize), they should be able to shorten the time between when you sit your ass on the couch and when you're watching something that turns your mind back off.

I'm probably dropping Instant Watching. The selection basically whittles down to a handful of decent-to-great movies, some TV shows (most of which look like shit), and a whoooooooole lot of direct-to-video garbage.

So, lessee, my unlimited streaming + unlimited 3x DVD/Blu-Ray plan just went from $24 a month to $28 a month. So what? I could even go to 1x or 2x DVD/Blu-Ray and pay less than I am now. Truth be told, I've been using Hulu+ more often since their Criterion licensing deal, Netflix needs to build a better streaming library.

I get 5 DVDs a month plus unlimited streaming, so the change doesn't actually cost me much more. It's a great service, the offerings just get better and better, so I don't mind if they adjust pricing to cover their operating costs - I would just hope that their corporate culture doesn't shift into the money-grubbing crap that cable has become.

Explicitly splitting the two features is certainly just the first round of changes. Netflix has always been pretty explicit that they want everything under one subscription (as opposed to charging to rent specific titles), so as the content providers put the screws to them to try to get more money for new/decent titles, I'd expect that streaming fee will rise (probably in concert with some major announcement about how they have all of some studio's new releases, or something like that).

I'm ultimately kind of irked at the sky-is-falling reaction so many people seem to have. Yes, 60% (or whatever) is a sizable price hike, but if you're watching with any kind of frequency, its still less than A) cable or B) renting the same amount of movies through a store or amazon/vudu/whatever or C) renting the same amount of movies through Redbox (unless you're hyper-vigilant about returning within one day). Netflix is cheap entertainment; its just less cheap now.

Doesn't matter to me, I dropped DVD delivery when they first offered the streaming only option. If I want to watch a new release I pick on up at red box which for one or two a month is cheap.

Streaming Netflix is definitely a replacement for basic cable for me, for a good deal less. Currently I'm watching Star Trek and I've never been at a loss for something to watch, I've maxed out my instant watch queue (that's 500 items).

Your survey needs the option of "get it from my public library"

On the poll, there should be two more options:
1) I'll ultimately keep paying, but write angry comments on social networks about it.
2) I'll say that I'm going to quit, just like I say I'm going to quit Facebook every time they make a user interface or privacy settings change.

(or are those both the same thing?)

Oh, I don't really care, but like someone else stated, the 2 DVD + streaming plan (what I have) will see a 60% price increase, which is huge.

I guess if I had to drop one, it would be streaming. Most of the good stuff seems like it's DVD only anyway.

@16, I'm with you on all that.

When Netflix went public a couple of years ago, I knew we were in for some new shit. I think Netflix has lost its edge and its usefulness. Used to be able to get DVDs not carried by Lackluster or even Hollywood, but long cues started, I could get my hands on a film before I could get it from Netflix. I dropped my membership maybe four years ago and haven't missed it at all. Recently got a free trial month of streaming with my new HDTV, but I was looking at what was available on the stream. Man, you can't be very film-picky if you want to take advantage of Netflix streaming. Mrs. Doubtfire,, anyone?

Levide (#15) mention Hulu+ - now ya talkin'. The entire Criterion collection and whole seasons of series available. Worth the $7.95/mo. But Netflix? For me, it's over.

Netflix streaming is still crappy to me. No extra features or subtitles, and it's choppy. And the selection is barf. I'm sticking with the DVDs for now.

It would have been reasonable to roll out this change in conjunction with a massive expansion of their streaming catalog. Then I would have happily switched to streaming-only and even been willing to pay a bit more for it. But right now 20% or less or their DVD catalog is available for streaming. So I'll be moving to DVD-only and costing them more in postal fees. Call me again, Netflix, when 80% or more of your DVD catalog is available for streaming.

I switched to instant only the last time they changed their prices. It has it's draw backs, but it's great for watching tons of old tv series.

I'm switching back to 1 or 2 DVDs at a time when the change goes into effect Sept. 1st. I hardly watch at all as it is. At $9.99/month I don't worry so much about getting my money's worth, but at $16 I'm going to start feeling uncomfortable.

The price is fair —if they actually offered their entire catalog for streaming. CurrentlyiIt's a rather anemic list of titles in the streaming catalog due to rights negotiations.

And I predict that battle is going to get more contentious until HBO, COMCAST, and the studios pretty much devour all the stream-able titles or restrict bandwidth.

I know I'm hopelessly 1998 but the DVD's at Broadway Video are way better in terms of quality anyway. And the people there are nice. So. Who cares about NetFlix.

I wonder—is there separate licensing deals between Netflix and content owners for streaming vs. DVD delivery? It stands to reason there would be, and if so, additions to their streaming offerings (ew!) may be slowing as content owners like Comcast et alii step up their game. Hopefully that's not the case.

Or, hopefully Hulu keeps going at the pace they've been adding content and works out the licensing kinks to get more of its affiliate content streamable on TV-ready devices.

Long live Scarecrow!

Long live Blu-ray!

msn news is reporting that 1000s of subscribers are threatening to quit Netflix. Finally! Finally a revolution that Jean Paul Marat would look foolish being murdered over. I now deem Bastille Day...... as NETFLIX DAY!

$17.98 here, since I get the Blu-Rays.

I echo #3's statement: "I don't know why anyone has cable anymore". Yet I'm torn because nowadays cable is producing the only scripted shows worth watching. Sure, I can watch them (a season behind, maybe) on Netflix, but the whole system is dependent upon cable existing to create the shows in the first place.

@32 - Absolutely they do. Worse comes to worse, they can just buy the discs through their distributor & the studios can't stop them (or, they can't in any way I'm aware of). For the streaming stuff, however, they need to forge an agreement with a content provider, and this is the pain point. The studios REALLY liked the deals they were getting with big chains like Blockbuster and Hollywood - instead of having the chains buy the titles outright, they'd have revenue-sharing agreements where they would provide subsidized copies of new releases to chain stores in exchange for a percentage of every rental (which put indie stores at a huge disadvantage) - and they really hate the new model of doing business.

Netflix has made a couple of deals that skirted around the studios (like making an arrangement with the pay channel Starz to essentially re-broadcast the Sony titles they had rights to) or agreeing to delay dvd rentals of new releases for 28 days in exchange for streaming access to more titles...still, some of these deals are about to dry up, and they're not going to be able to get nearly as favorable a rate for content anymore.

A recent analyst report estimates that Netflix's licencing costs for streaming titles was going to leap from $180 million in 2010 to nearly $2 BILLION in 2012. There's no way they can just absorb this with their current pricing structure, even with the hike they're making now. I guarantee that now that you've seen the rates split, you'll see further increases to streaming costs. My bet, however, is that they'll wait until they've struck some big deal for content - either new releases, or a huge library of catalog titles - then sneak the hike in during the afterglow...

Seattle Public Library FTW.

On a side note, nice to see the folks speaking up for local stores. I've been using Netflix exclusively for streaming stuff for my kids for the last six months (or the occasional TV show I already own but don't want to bother getting out the discs when folding laundry) - anything I want to rent for myself, I get my ass down to Scarecrow. I'm trying to ignore Amazon for purchases as well, and instead buy my discs through them (although this one is REALLY hard).

Yes, I know its more expensive, and yes, fitting in the trip in a weekend packed with family stuff can be tough. That said, I don't want to arrive at a day when my only option is to either do Netflix or (shudder) Redbox. That extra amount I pay is what its worth to me to try to ensure a great local business sticks around...

Never had Netflix.
Never had Hulu +.
Don't even know what a "bitstream" is.
Christ, what do I do with my time?

I would abandon Netflix for my local store, but it closed earlier this year, which was a major bummer. The next closest store closed two years ago. There's Safeway, but the selection is hideous. I'm keeping the Netflix DVD service but reducing the number. The streaming service, at least at my house, sucks, so good riddance. Glitchy and poor quality on my desktop + HD monitor plus a paltry selection, and I'm not inclined to buy more hardware to get shitty movie quality streamed to my TV.

@35: " Yet I'm torn because nowadays cable is producing the only scripted shows worth watching."

When HBO starts their own streaming service...

I've been using the unlimited streaming, plus one DVD a month. So, essentially, I will get a 100% increase in what I am paying now, for the exact same thing.

This is not effective until September 1rst. My current plan is to just keep my current plan through August and cancel before the new rate kicks in. I'll just have to go back to watching everything at other sites. Too bad.

You can't stream much of the good stuff anyways ... it's dregs for the most part, including movies made 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Most people who instant-stream are probably alone ... don't imagine that many people have net-to-big-screen hookups. Can't imagine 3 people crowding around a computer.

Its because the original favorable streaming contracts that Netflix made with the content-providers while they were snoozing are expiring, and the now very-much-awake providers are out for VERY serious $$$ this time.

I rent from Scarecrow Video all the time.

There's no option for "I'm fucking pissed but will probably pay the 50% fee hike anyway"

Fnarf, I don't know when the last time was that you watched a foreign language movie on Netflix streaming, but most of the foreign language films are available with subtitles now (oh, Korean cinema! My newest love!).
Still no extra features, but I'm not aware of any streaming sites that offer extra features.

I just dropped the streaming that I don't use anyway. 3 DVDs at a time is great and now it's at a lower price. Thanks, Netflix!

You didn't have the poll option that best fits my situation: never wanted the streaming (my bandwidth is to costly to stream), so I'm glad they split them into two accounts. Will continue with just DVDs by mail, which is a great program.

I don't have cable or fast internet, so don't care at all about the streamingm so this results in a net savings for me. As a side note, Netflix's site had been bugging me lately because it had become streaming-centric (hard to browse and add DVDs to the physical queue). Hopefully if I'm a physical-disc customer only, my interface will reflect that. If not, I guess I'll get more and more irritated until I finally suck it up and get fast internet and go streaming.

As some of you who follow Questionland know I dropped my cable in favor of only using streaming video from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. And just to let you know this doesn't bother me at all and I still think it's a far better value than buying the shit that's on cable.

Christy O makes some good points there.

My initial impression was "well, I don't like paying more money", which seems obvious for most people, but then I realized...the one DVD I've gotten from Netflix in some time has been sitting on my player for 3 months now, so I may as well drop to a lower plan and go on with life.

We have Netflix DVDs sitting around for months before we get around to watching them. Frankly, sorting that DVD queue is more Fucking With than I want to devote time for. I use the streaming service all the time on both my XBox 360 and my Roku device. Got Hulu+ only because they have day-late Daily Show and Colbert Report and I ain't gonna watch on my laptop.

Will probably just drop down from 3 DVDs to 1 or 2 and continue on as normal.

I do 4 DVDs at a time, and my plan is going up by $2. I can deal with that.

I just switched to DVD-only (since I never use the streaming anyway), and saved like ten bucks. I was subsidizing the "streamers" before and now I'm not, so that's good, right?

I switched to the 1-DVD-at-a-time only, max-4-per-month a couple of years ago when I canceled my satellite (which we absolutely never watched). That plan's always worked very nicely for us, as we average about 2 movies a month. I don't want the streaming, and Redbox or local stores (I'm in the 'burbs, so no decent options) are useless for what I want (which is usually older or more obscure choices). I almost never watch new releases. My plan has been under $5/month - it was one of the ones they didn't advertise, but begged you to switch to if you contacted them to cancel. If it stays $5/month, I'll keep it. If they double it...well, I'll quit watching movies.

I couldn't even watch Lost Highway on their instant streaming. Their instant streaming was worth $2 to me, but it's not worth $7.99. And back in its heyday before Sony pulled all its titles, there used to be a hell of a lot more to watch. Now it has less and they're charging more for it. So if I want to keep both, I have to pay more. Couldn't they have just raised prices up two dollars? I feel like I'm being punished because I genuinely use both of their services. Now I guess I won't use either.

@56: "I couldn't even watch Lost Highway on their instant streaming."

It's not Netflix's fault that your bandwidth is shitty.

I'm probably going to sign up for Netflix again now; I dropped them when I moved to the middle of the forest in January, where our bandwidth is capped at 200 MB per day. The opportunity to be fully employed along with my husband meant sacrificing tv reception, radio reception, and Netflix. I was fine with those sacrifices, but now that we can get a DVD-only plan, I'm very tempted to spend part of our small salary on this. Or, we could just continue as we have for the past seven months, watching our DVD collection of the Simpsons, Futurama, Arrested Development, Monty Python, etc (along with lots of movies), or lying outside on a blanket looking at the stars. Choices, choices.