Netflix is toast.

dave k.dave k.
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/09/expl...id=netflixBlog



I do wonder how much the television/movie studios played into this...



Qwikster is a pretty dumb name... Why not Quikflix???

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Uh, what?



    Somehow Netflix is "toast" because they're getting rid of their 20th century division and keeping the 21st century one?



    Do you know what toast is?
  • Reply 2 of 9
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Uh, what?



    Somehow Netflix is "toast" because they're getting rid of their 20th century division and keeping the 21st century one?



    Do you know what toast is?



    They're not getting rid of the DVD rental business, just making a stronger distinction between that and streaming. And the streaming business is currently hamstrung by difficult to navigate, expensive rights negotiations, which limit the streaming offerings to a fraction of what's available on DVD.



    I see this as a response to the anger over their change in pricing structure. Going forward, you can get cheap streaming at Netflix for a low price, or (still relatively cheap) DVD rental at Qwikster (which is a hideous name, admittedly), or both--but it will be like subscribing to two different services.



    So the people that were getting both for less still have a beef, but in the future you'll just pick and choose. It think they had to do something, because the streaming started out as a free value added perk on the DVD rental service, and quickly grew to be the tail that was wagging the dog (instant gratification having trumped limited selection)
  • Reply 3 of 9
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    I think Netflix will do fine, but it annoys me that they raised their prices in January 2011 by $1 per disc out, then come around again and announce another price increase only six months later.



    Streaming quality is a very mixed bag, some looks great, others worse than VCD. Almost none of the titles have working closed captioning.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Uh, what?



    Somehow Netflix is "toast" because they're getting rid of their 20th century division and keeping the 21st century one?



    Do you know what toast is?



    I sure do know what toast is and IMO, Netflix is it.



    If the future of Netflix is streaming, do you really think they have the business know-how and capabilities to successfully challenge Apple/Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Studios/Cable?? I don't.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    I sure do know what toast is and IMO, Netflix is it.



    If the future of Netflix is streaming, do you really think they have the business know-how and capabilities to successfully challenge Apple/Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Studios/Cable?? I don't.



    What does any of that have to do with anything? Who says they're challenging anyone?



    They're getting rid of their outdated, physical service. They want to trim the fat. That's it.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    I sure do know what toast is and IMO, Netflix is it.



    If the future of Netflix is streaming, do you really think they have the business know-how and capabilities to successfully challenge Apple/Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Studios/Cable?? I don't.



    But what Netflix does have going for it (which none of the competitors you list do) is an up and running on demand subscription streaming service with a big if erratic catalog, and the long tail of their massively successful DVD renting business, which closely associates the brand with video rentals.



    Neither of those things guarantee success, of course, but they're powerful assets. People are very comfortable with Netflix as a source of video entertainment, and the business model (even with the new wrinkles) is much clearer than some mix of online rentals, online purchase, on demand pay for view and limited subscription plans.



    I think if Netflix can keep adding to their streaming catalog (which involves difficult negotiations with the rights holders, but then that's true for everyone) they can continue to flourish. Conversely, if the rights holders insist on hanging on to their stuff and siloing content into multiple, studio specific sites, then it's all of online video that's going to suffer, not just Netflix.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    What does any of that have to do with anything? Who says they're challenging anyone?



    They're getting rid of their outdated, physical service. They want to trim the fat. That's it.



    Dude. They are not getting rid of anything. They're just making a clearer distinction between streaming and DVD rentals. The DVD rental thing is still the same company, just under a different name.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Dude. They are not getting rid of anything. They're just making a clearer distinction between streaming and DVD rentals. The DVD rental thing is still the same company, just under a different name.



    Yes? that's not the point I'm making, but yes.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    p40whkp40whk Posts: 19member
    One DVD a month for close to $9 is too much when you can get them from Red-Box for $1. My $10 combo subscription (streaming and DVD) was a fair deal but not any longer. After being forced to choose between the two or get charged a 50% increase to keep both I dropped them. They may not be toast for the reasons listed in the OP's post but they are for me for the reasons I listed.
Sign In or Register to comment.