Much like former New York governor candidate Jimmy McMillan said in a debate last October about the cost of rent, Netflix customers are now saying the price of streaming is too damn high.
Subscribers to Netflix’s DVD-by-mail and Web-streaming service received an infuriating email on Tuesday informing them that the price of their services would increase by 60 percent.
Netflix’s current cost for having one DVD out at a time with Web-streaming is $9.99 a month. Starting now for new customers, and September 1 for existing customers, the price will be $15.99. Those wanting to have the DVD-by-mail or Web streaming separately can get the individual services for $7.99 each.
What angered me and other Netflix customers is there’s no value being added to the services to coincide with the price hike. While Netflix’s Web-streaming library has expanded over the years, it still lacks a huge portion of popular movie and television titles available to stream. It doesn’t make sense to charge such a premium price for a service that just isn’t there yet.
Netflix’s timing is also off. The country is still coming out of a recession and people are still worried about their future. The price hike will play significantly into some people’s monthly budgets. To be honest, a Web-streaming service that offers “Hangin’ With Hung” a documentary about American Idol wash-up William Hung as one of its top selections, doesn’t warrant the extra cash from struggling college students.
To those jumping the Netflix ship, there are many alternatives. Blockbuster by Mail is a DVD-by-mail service that allows the customer to swap out the DVD at any Blockbuster retail location- if you can find one-as an added bonus. For $12 a month you can do this five times and get titles coming out 28 days before Netflix and RedBox-including video games.
RedBox is another alternative. While not a DVD-by-mail service, the rental kiosk allows the customer to rent a DVD for $1 a day. The Hulu Plus Web-streaming service for $8 per month is another option, however this service panders heavily towards television rather than movies.
It will be interesting to see how Netflix’s business changes over the next couple months. Will the loyal Netflix customers dig deeper into their pockets to enjoy the same service they’ve been using, or will they stick it to the man and abandon Netflix’s camp? I doubt many will choose the latter because even though Netflix’s Web-streaming has yet to reach its prime, the service is still way beyond any other on the market.