Too little, too late brah. I still think I'm going to cancel netflix. with the pricing changes and reduced selection, I feel as if I'm paying more for less.

9/19/2011 6:30:30 AM

my facebook is in outrage. what happened?

9/19/2011 6:59:10 AM

Lol at 'Qwikster'

9/19/2011 7:02:10 AM

Quote :

" Dear Jeff, I messed up. I owe you an explanation. It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing. For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do. So here is what we are doing and why. Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies. I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service. So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently. It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming. Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated. There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready. For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you. I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly. Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions. Respectfully yours, -Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments. "

9/19/2011 7:03:24 AM

;dr

9/19/2011 7:12:12 AM

he's been busy writing apology letters. i got one too.

Is the selection really reduced?

9/19/2011 7:20:52 AM

Their contract with Starz ends soon, and they failed to reach an agreement for a new contract. all of those movies abd shows will disappear soon from the streaming selection.
Also, Starz has a cap in place for certain content....which is why the movie Salt went away after a day or so.

9/19/2011 7:30:01 AM

shouuld have called it qwikflix.

9/19/2011 7:32:14 AM

Does this mean that Reed Hastings will be hanging around bookstores now trying to recruit for his new business?

9/19/2011 7:49:02 AM

Still don't see why they're splitting up. All this means:

Quote :

"So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently."

is that they got greedy. Or one branch was getting greedier than the other. I certainly don't see how either one is going to reduce in price now that they've proven that the customers are willing to pay the current price, so the split is just bad news for old and reliable customers.

The service was perfect as is. Why try to fix something that isn't broken.

9/19/2011 8:16:44 AM

me too

fuck Qwikster

9/19/2011 8:25:18 AM

I think thats how many subscribers view it. Greed.

but netflix knows whats up. They lost millions of subcribers recently, and their stock took a blow as well. now, the only thing another company needs to do is offer netflix type service at netflix's old price

9/19/2011 8:26:24 AM

Yeah they figured out that they fucked up but they already signed the papers splitting the company.

9/19/2011 8:26:25 AM

someone had told me that their goal is to have virtually the entire catalog available for streaming within the next year and a half.... was that person just blowing smoke up my arse?

9/19/2011 8:26:39 AM

yes

9/19/2011 8:29:24 AM

hmm, video games, you say?

9/19/2011 8:29:27 AM

attn: gamefly

9/19/2011 8:31:32 AM

My reply back to Mr. Reed Hastings:

Quote :

"Mr Reed Hastings, You completely missed the boat here. Your customers don't care, at all, what your business needs are. To every one of us, a movie is a movie, whether on disk or online. Managing those movies using a single service (Netflix) was a MAJOR part of the value of your service. By splitting apart these two delivery methods, you have in a single swoop, destroyed one of the biggest value propositions of your company. I have been a long time Netflix subscriber, and have recommended and signed up scores of friends and family for your service over the years. But over the past couple of years, I have noticed ongoing removal of functionality from the clients, and a growing ignorance of what your customer base actually cares about. I am still a customer for the time being, but I won't likely be for much longer. Being a streaming + mail service is unique. Just streaming puts you in competition with a half dozen other companies. And if I leave, you can count on a whole lot of friends and family to go with me. You need to rethink your strategy seriously. Maintaining compatibility for two different delivery methods is difficult, but running a business without any customers is a lot more difficult. Sincerely, Tyler Gibson"

9/19/2011 8:31:55 AM

AWWWWW FUCK

you (likely) showed him

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:33 AM. Reason : d]

9/19/2011 8:33:33 AM

Here's a pretty interesting editorial written by TWW's own, SouthPaW12.

The gist of it is that they probably decided to split the companies (and allow the Netflix name to stick with the streaming side of the house) because physical media will be dead in a matter of years and it's better to separate the two now rather than have half of your company be killed off a a few years from now.

9/19/2011 8:33:59 AM

Quote :

"And if I leave, you can count on a whole lot of friends and family to go with me."

you know, because they do what i tell them to...always

9/19/2011 8:34:23 AM

i'd try out blockbuster or amazon if they had Xbox, PS3, or GoogleTV clients

9/19/2011 8:34:30 AM

Neon,

do you mind if i steal the bulk of your response ?

9/19/2011 8:35:22 AM

^^^^so that pretty much is saying what I was told, and I wasn't really having smoke blown up my ass....

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:36 AM. Reason : w]

9/19/2011 8:36:00 AM

I can't remember the details off hand, but I recall reading an article a while back basically saying that production companies will only allow a certain amount if their new movies to be viewed by streaming. This is done to preserve the value of the movie industry as well as promote DVD sales.


sadly, I think that before netflix messed up this thing of beauty, they were in the sweet spot. For me, at least, they hit my "go legal" price on the head. Meaning, I was willing to pay their price and give up pirating shit off the interwebs.

9/19/2011 8:36:36 AM

Quote :

"Being a streaming + mail service is unique. Just streaming puts you in competition with a half dozen other companies."

So they went from being one company that was the best at two things to two companies that are the best at one thing each. I'm really not seeing the big deal. This move just allows them to separate their focus to continue to be the best. Or fail. Either way, I think the only dick move was not offering a discount to people that wanted to use both services. Now we see why, as they weren't planning on remaining under the same banner for much longer. It seems like, to me, that most of the people I've read about only seem to use DVDs by mail, or streaming, but not a lot of both. I think most people are irritated that they don't get 2 services for the price of one anymore. Which is understandable, but from a business standpoint, wasn't going to be practical forever.

9/19/2011 8:40:34 AM

the only thing I dislike will be the hassle of two queues- it isn't the end of the world, but it does make it slightly less worth it.

9/19/2011 8:43:17 AM

Quote :

"For me, at least, they hit my "go legal" price on the head. Meaning, I was willing to pay their price and give up pirating shit off the interwebs."

yep.

guess i need to figure out how to do that shit again :/

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:50 AM. Reason : i wonder if they'll port over existing netflix dvd queues]

9/19/2011 8:49:16 AM

Quote :

"guess i need to figure out how to do that shit again :/"

message_topic.aspx?topic=512798

9/19/2011 8:50:35 AM

Quote :

"you know, because they do what i tell them to...always"

Actually, most of my family does exactly this, so far as technology is concerned. They don't know (or care) two shits about technology. If it weren't for me, they'd still be watching basic cable on a 20yr old CRT television.

And I'm not the only one. I'd bet a significant number of folks here on Tdub have a pretty big influence on the services their parents/family try and use.

sumfoo1: sure man, no problem

Quote :

"So they went from being one company that was the best at two things to two companies that are the best at one thing each. I'm really not seeing the big deal. "

Except they aren't the best at two things. Their streaming service fucking BLOWS. Hulu has more content. They *were* the best mail service, because it offered streaming content as a gap filler. NO ONE WANTS THEM TO SEPARATE THEIR FOCUS. Telling a customer "yo, forget about watching 85% of the content you enjoy and just wait a few years for us to work out deals to get it streaming" is fucking stupid.

^^^^^^ (however many^'s) Nail on the head. It's a huge hassle. Once they removed the ability to queue DVD's from the streaming clients, I all but stopped ordering DVD's. Which also made me not want to use Netflix anymore. I would GLADLY pay 14-15/mo to have one continued, dual delivery system. I will NEVER pay that price for two independent ones.


What pisses me off more than anything is that it is blatantly obvious that this move was done for entirely business reasons. Netflix keeps trying to sugar coat this, but they are just fucking every customer they have. They did it too early, in a seriously piss-poor and ignorant manner.


[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:55 AM. Reason : .]

9/19/2011 8:50:54 AM

Quote :

"Except they aren't the best at two things. Their streaming service fucking BLOWS. Hulu has more content."

Eh, allow me to backpedal here just a bit. Having their app on all three major consoles plus 95% of all the other STB/Streamers/Blu Ray players out there kind of makes them the winner by default. I didn't really mean best in terms of selection, or image quality, just best in that they've won the ease of use category by a fucking mile. There really isn't even a close 2nd in that category, and that's the one that really matters.

9/19/2011 8:55:15 AM

Except for Hulu, which is now on every one of the same platforms. And has a better content selection, better forward looking strategy, and movies too.

9/19/2011 8:56:57 AM

Yeah it would be one thing if they started getting streaming movies around the same time that say....

Time Warner Movies on-demand did... but they don't all their streaming movies are 2 years old and in the "who the fuck cares anymore" range of movies...

I mean their best movies are classics.

The only reason i was planning on keeping instant watch for a little bit is because i haven't finished watching all the top gears and i didn't feel like downloading 150gigs of torrents.


[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:59 AM. Reason : .]

9/19/2011 8:57:12 AM

If Qwikster and Netflix both have API's for queue management a slew of aggregators will sprout up.

9/19/2011 8:58:54 AM

I can aggregate today. I don't want to manage my queue from a computer.

I want to manage from the same damn place(s) I'm watching the content. You know, the way that Netflix ALREADY WORKED before they REMOVED THE FUNCTIONALITY.

That is the biggest pile of bullshit ever. Talking about removing the burden of compatibility to innovate. Maybe you could pass off that lie if they hadn't already built it, and it worked beautifully.

9/19/2011 9:01:24 AM

i suppose i'll stick to redbox and torrents.

9/19/2011 9:02:28 AM

The weird thing is that I had just finished reading a CNN column about why his choices were "right" when I received the email.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/19/why-reed-hastings-should-be-applauded-for-netflix-split/

9/19/2011 9:04:37 AM

I have never been a fan of the by mail service so this will only help to make the service I use better.

9/19/2011 9:08:02 AM

fuck Mr. Hasting.

welcome back bit torrents.

9/19/2011 9:08:27 AM

^^^The people writing these columns are business analysts and "journalists". They are all opinion columns written by people who have little (or no) experience in actually running a business.

The millions of customers who walked out already (and I guarantee you there will be millions more after this email) should tell you how extremely "not right" these decisions are.

The underlying sentiment is sound, you have to continue to innovate and be forward looking. But they are all completely ignoring that you also can't abandon your customers, and you can't leap from one innovating curve to the other overnight. There are BOOKS on the s-curves of innovation, and every single book/study/article I've read on this topic in the past two years confirms that Netflix jumped the gun BIG time, and they are going to pay dearly for it.

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 9:11 AM. Reason : ^^^]

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 9:13 AM. Reason : ']

9/19/2011 9:11:11 AM

Noen, you sure typed a lot of words to be saying absolutely nothing

9/19/2011 9:25:22 AM

I'm going to cancel my dvd mail in service...and I will keep my streaming on a month to month basis...but the moment I run out of stuff to watch or they take everything off I'm going to cancel that.

9/19/2011 9:32:18 AM

Noen, while I agree that it certainly appears that Hastings has made the wrong decision; I thought the column provided an interesting counterargument.

I, too, canceled my DVDs. I hardly used them anyway. Happiness sat on my coffee table for months.

9/19/2011 9:35:32 AM

i thought Reed Hastings was some nigerian prince who wants my monies and sent that email to spam

9/19/2011 9:49:40 AM

Netflix thought they could strong-arm their customers, and they were very wrong. The market has spoken. Netflix must revert, or they risk going under, resistance is futile.

9/19/2011 9:53:47 AM

i canceled the DVDs. if they are for real going to get rid of streaming selection I might cancel that as well. Their selection already is terrible.

9/19/2011 11:06:21 AM

The part that annoys me is that my parents are likely going to cancel the streaming...or both, I don't even know. If they cancel it, there goes my Netflix

9/19/2011 11:16:43 AM

I really don't appreciate they brought back that name from Amway... oh wait, that was Quixtar. Close enough to make me qweasy.

9/19/2011 11:18:12 AM

Quote :

"The part that annoys me is that my parents are likely going to cancel the streaming...or both, I don't even know. If they cancel it, there goes my Netflix"

how old are you?

9/19/2011 11:18:39 AM

who gives a shit about getting a physical disk in the mail?

every one i ever received looked like it had been played on a lawnmower rather than a DVD player.

9/19/2011 11:22:36 AM