Netflix new pricing. Blech!

[cristina47454]

We stream A LOT and do the one at a time dvd, but I am SO BAD about returning them in a timely manner..

Anyway, just got an email outlining their new pricing...no way am I paying $16/mo for the service I'm now paying $10 for.  Guess I better pick which one I'm keeping.  Sigh.

[PoetryLover]

I haven't hear about that yet. We have the $10 package, too, and that would really suck. 

[pbjmama]

I just got the email. Not happy.

eta - Pricing starts Sept 1.

[TiredX2]

I haven't recieved the email, yet, but here is a news article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/netflix-price-subscription-plan_n_895779.html

 Netflix will now separate DVD and streaming services into two separate plans, each priced at $7.99. A combo plan will still be available, but at an increased rate of $15.98 a month.

There will also be a standalone DVD rental plan that lets the user check out two discs at a time for $11.99 per month. The $7.99 DVD rental plan will let users check out one title at a time.

[TiredX2]

I'm surprised there is *no* pricing incentive to get both packages, together.  I wonder if they will loose a lot of streaming business to Hulu Plus?

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by TiredX2 

I'm surprised there is *no* pricing incentive to get both packages, together.  I wonder if they will loose a lot of streaming business to Hulu Plus?

I doubt it.  Hulu Plus does not have the full range of Hulu shows, it's a just selection of them.  For the life of me I can't figure out how they choose which shows they feature on Plus.  It's really not worth the $8, we canceled it several months ago.

[kristandthekids]

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Edited by kristandthekids - 1/16/13 at 4:21pm

[Fuamami]

I heard something on NPR a few months back about how Netflix was moving toward streaming only, for everything. I know that's a few years down the road, but it would sure be nice if they had SOME new or desirable movies streaming, and not just on DVD only.

[Wolfcat]

Streaming only is $7.99/mo, and last I heard, they were going to have all their movies streaming within the next 2 - 5 years. There is already a huge selection, so, budget-wise, that would probably be your best choice.

[Adaline'sMama]

Well, Im going to drop them. That is just way too much money. Its half the price of cable and my internet is so crappy that half the time the movie gets interrupted.

[macandcheese]

I was just coming to start a thread about the same thing.

This change stinks! DH and I would like to drop them completely just on principle, but I don't know if there are really any good alternatives. Blockbuster does one DVD at a time for $11 or 12 a month, which definitely is not worth it. Rentals on iTunes are $2-5 each, depending on the movie. Hulu plus doesn't have all the shows we watch, though it would be nice to be able to see them on Apple TV.

Does anyone know of any other options?

[macandcheese]

Originally Posted by Wolfcat 

Streaming only is $7.99/mo, and last I heard, they were going to have all their movies streaming within the next 2 - 5 years. There is already a huge selection, so, budget-wise, that would probably be your best choice.

I recall reading the same thing not long ago, but I just read an article this morning that explained how various tv and movie studios have contract clauses that will prevent this from happening. Stuff that HBO has the rights to (Mad Men reruns, for example) won't be available for streaming for something like seven years after HBO signs them. Other companies have similar rules.

Boo!

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by macandcheese 

I was just coming to start a thread about the same thing.

This change stinks! DH and I would like to drop them completely just on principle, but I don't know if there are really any good alternatives. Blockbuster does one DVD at a time for $11 or 12 a month, which definitely is not worth it. Rentals on iTunes are $2-5 each, depending on the movie. Hulu plus doesn't have all the shows we watch, though it would be nice to be able to see them on Apple TV.

Does anyone know of any other options?

Redbox movies are $1, and there are often free codes if you sign up for their texts.  We will most likely do a combo of streaming, Redbox freebies and library movies.

[PenelopeJune]

Macandcheese, I just read an article yesterday that Netflix bought the rights to Mad Men, so that should be available soon.

I still think its a hell of a deal. We don't have any other tv service, so streaming is our only television. I think it's fantastic. I'll be dropping the DVD option, but only because I don't really use it. I have a movie I got June 9 and I still haven't watched it yet.

[macandcheese]

Originally Posted by Siennaflower 

Redbox movies are $1, and there are often free codes if you sign up for their texts.  We will most likely do a combo of streaming, Redbox freebies and library movies.

Oh, I forgot about Redbox! The drug store around the corner from us has a machine, so we could easily do that.

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune 

Macandcheese, I just read an article yesterday that Netflix bought the rights to Mad Men, so that should be available soon.

I still think its a hell of a deal. We don't have any other tv service, so streaming is our only television. I think it's fantastic. I'll be dropping the DVD option, but only because I don't really use it. I have a movie I got June 9 and I still haven't watched it yet.

Hmm... if they can continue to add more stuff for streaming, that would make us happy. I looked at our queue last night, and out of about 100 items only a dozen or so were available for instant play. Maybe we should switch to Redbox/library for dvds and just learn to be more patient ...

[PenelopeJune]

There is a blog that shows what shows are coming up for streaming...let me see if I can find it...

http://feedfliks.com/streaming/coming-soon 

I treat Netflix streaming like I used to treat TV. Whatever is on, that's what I watch. I like it better than satellite TV. I can watch an entire series, without commercials. I can pick what episodes I want to watch or skip. I can fast forward through boring parts.

For $8 a month (or even $15) it's still better than the $60 I used to pay for satellite, and there is significantly more that I actually want to watch on Netflix.

[ameliabedelia]

This is annoying, but I can understand why they do it.  We also use the instant watching (I guess that is streaming, but we don't have a TV, we just watch instantly on the laptop) the way some people use TV.   I need to talk to DH, but if it were up to me, I would just keep the instant viewing, but if he wants the 1 DVD out at a time, I guess we will do that as well.   I'm happy with just instant though.  I just pick from what is available and that is what I watch.  I watch very few actual movies...usually episodes of old shows.

[PoetryLover]

I really like the idea of keeping streaming and doing Redbox. Redbox is really only $1 per movie with no other fees? Or is there a membership fee plus the $1 per movie?

[samstress]

i just heard about this yesterday.  i was planning on joining because it seemed like such a deal, too good to be true, in fact. and now i see that it was.  will have to decide if it's worth the $16.

Originally Posted by PoetryLover 

Redbox is really only $1 per movie with no other fees? Or is there a membership fee plus the $1 per movie?

no, there's no membership fee.  i use redbox and blockbuster express on occasion although i rarely find anything i want to watch in those boxes.  what really bugs me about the movies in those boxes, though, is that you can only watch the movie (never the extras -- and i LOVE the extras). 

[_ktg_]

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune 

I still think its a hell of a deal. We don't have any other tv service, so streaming is our only television. I think it's fantastic. I'll be dropping the DVD option, but only because I don't really use it. I have a movie I got June 9 and I still haven't watched it yet.

  Both DH & I think this is still a heck of a deal for us as a family.  We have tons of shows in the streaming for the kiddos, and then DH & I get to order out DVD to catch up on a lot of movies we have missed since the kids arrived.

As for Redbox - while they are just $1 movies - I've heard from several folks in my office, if you are not on-time with your return, you get charged crazy fees.  And as a habitually late returner of movies, this could be terrible for my budget if it happened a couple of times in a month.