Netflix CEO Reed Hastings today posted the following via The Netflix Blog:
It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.
This means no change: one website, one account, one password… in other words, no Qwikster.
While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.
We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.
We value our members, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get movies & TV shows.
Thank you.
-Reed
MacDailyNews Take: Confused – and very public – scrambling. Amateur hour continues in Netflix’s corner office. For how much longer will NFLX shareholders tolerate such bumbling?
Related articles:
Netflix spilts DVD-by-mail and streaming services; CEO Hastings: ‘I messed up’ – September 19, 2011
Price-raising Netflix is tone-deaf on public perception – July 26, 2011
Netflix increases prices, changes DVD and streaming plans – July 13, 2011
Hastings will be looking for a job soon.
But will never be compared to Jobs
Greed lost!
They sure look foolish, but netflix is still the best way to get movies.
Geez! This company is quicksand. Don’t buy in or you’ll get sucked under never to regain your footing. Or your investment.
This guys are making lots of dumb mistakes, cause they are scared. They’ve had a lot of success the last few years and they can see the reverse happening shortly
Best decision in years.
Done with price changes? Reed baby, you increased the monthly fee by what 40% or so(I’d have to look at my Visa bill)? That’s the ultimate screw up. Had you done it gradually it might have worked? But you don’t have enough cash (300 million) to even think about paying for content going forward. They’re raising the price on YOU Reed and you could quadruple our fees and it wouldnt help you a
bit! You is sunk boy and you know it. But you were smart enough to cash in I think something like $300,000,000.00 worth of stock a month or two back. When it was over $300/share. So you’re no dummy.
While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.
Reverse that bitch, and I might come back,
Otherwise done with Netflix.
They didn’t want to raise the price, but they have to renew their deals with Hollywood. Now that NFX is so popular, those same deals with the studios are going to cost a lot more to renew. Whoever write the price-uping email should’ve explained that. The studios could make some money at a slow pace, but they’re choosing to kill the golden goose instead.
Netflix people replied the question about July’s raise of prices numerously, but they honestly do not refer to any Holliwood price spikes.
It is purely Netflix’s business decision. They have lost 1 million subscribers, but received significant boost in net profits.
it’s VERY easy to find the answer, if you actually look for it…
http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/technology/netflix_starz_contract/index.htm
“Netflix’s streaming content licensing costs will rise from $180 million in 2010 to a whopping $1.98 billion in 2012.”
THERE is your price increase from hollywood.
Get Eureka back in production now that the show is available through Netflix and maybe, maybe, the healing process can begin.
I read Eureka was only meant to be a 5 year show.. at the end of S3 they announced that there will be 2 seasons left, and a movie (TV) to close everything.
And there was much rejoicing….
(yeeeeah…)
I used to routinely spend $30 a month on Netflix with the 4 DVD and streaming service. I think their big mistake was offering 1 DVD plus streaming for under $10. In the end everyone switched to this model instead of the higher cost selection because they were using the streaming content more.
I switched to 1DVD a month eventually and just cancelled that because the DVDs have been unplayable recently.
Netflix killed the golden goose. The streaming feature is very good but they needed to use it to encourage customers to rent 3 DVDs per month instead of offering a really cheap deal. You can never go back once you offer a discount.
My recommendation offer tiered pricing where you get streaming for free with the 3 DVD option. The goal is to get a much money per customer.
Yep, that was their mistake. Once you get people used to paying a “bargain” price, it will always be difficult to get them to pay a premium again.
The fact that the lower price was not sustainable shows that their business plan was flawed.
They should have never rolled out the very cheap DVD streaming option at that pricing.
The cable companies understand this and they always use a 3 month introductory price. Then everything shoots up.
At least they were able to see one horrible decision and swallowed their pride and gave in. That shows that there are some brains in the board room there.
He COULD have simply said, “I like our strategy. I like it a lot.”
Hastings pulled an Apotheker
But.. but… the quick-draw pundits had dubbed him as the next SJ, up until a few weeks ago.
Dumped Netflix and Time Warner cable in August.
We miss neither.
Redbox and a roof antenna are filling the bill.
They are still forcing members into streaming plans even if they’d prefer DVD only. The incompetence isn’t over yet.
Genius. I mean, we’re NOT focused so much on the stupid price increase anymore. 😉
Believe it or not, I read this…
While the Juicy price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.
Stones in glass houses, MDN. At the end of the day, Netflix still offers the best streaming service and experience in addition to videos by mail.
The operative word in your hasty comment is ‘still’; Netflix’s success is not so earth shattering given the studios wanted them to succeed as an artificially constructed competition against anything but iTunes mindset self-FUDed up by the studio pinheads.
Apple fans and admirers often enjoy long view sustainable strategies and patience. Netflix needs to survive the current economic conditions where they are reliant on content provider’s whims. They tried to move towards a different future that just proved to be unsuccessful. I’m not writing them off, but your comment against MDN, seem short-sighted if not ignorant. Those that have been here long enough, have seen too many coming and going of brash CEOs (you remember RIM, right? RIGHT?).
First of all, I’ve been around long enough here on MDN, as an Apple user, and technology professional in general. My remark was just with regards to the easy and sharp criticisms that MDN likes to throw around a bit too often, even towards Apple (remember the “debacle” comments and more after the iPhone 4S event?). It’s easy to criticize and throw words like “amateur”, “scrambling” and “bumbling” around. Even if mistakes are made, so what? Life is full of mistakes and that’s how we all learn.
Now if they would just fix the crippled Netflix iPad app to restore the ability to browse both streaming and DVDs…
Their update of the NetFlix app was of the worst I’ve ever seen – they had a great tool for searching their *entire* catalog, and “fixed” it so that it could only access their meager steaming library.
“…we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get movies & TV shows” Hastings states, despite all recent evidence to the contrary. Losing pricing advantage to RedBox should tell your shareholders something.
Of course, Netflix still dominates the video rental market because subscribers are like addicts — once the payment is automated, who bothers to watch the money fly out the window every month? How brilliant is that — automating payment for services whether those services are consumed or not. brilliant marketing. Just goes to show that sometimes, even the most bumbling CEO can’t screw it up. Just keep the sheeple just happy enough that they don’t look outside the corral.
But what would you expect from a Microsoftie, the company that puts user experience dead last in product planning?
How much does Netflix pay Hastings again? $500k salary plus $5 million in stock options? If i were on the Netflix board, his stock options would have evaporated a long time ago. Give him free Blu Ray discs to keep instead.
It has been an interesting process to watch to say the least. It’s nice to see a company address its customers concerns quickly but I would have preferred some forethought in the first place. I was customer, and then they changed the prices. I had been long gone by the time Qwickster came around. Price was my main concern. The hassle of managing 2 accounts was secondary. In the end I found a service that offered much more then Netflix/Qwickster combined, for a much lower price. . I already switched to the Blockbuster Movie Pass. $10 a month for DVDs and streaming, they include blu-rays and video games too! I already have DISH Network, my employer; because they are the only company that can give me live TV streaming on my phone. Now the Blockbuster Movie Pass is part of my TV service. That saves me time and money. I would have switched even if Netflix didn’t make any changes.