Netflix Changes Pricing and Plans

Computers, Economy, Electronics, Entertainment, Gadgets, Geek Stuff, Media, Movies, Video 2 Minutes

Well, has it been an eventful week or what?

In addition to being a Virgin Mobile customer and getting the news of an eventual price increase on monthly Beyond Talk plans, I’m also a Netflix customer and wasn’t all that happy to see this nifty e-mail in my wife’s inbox:

netflix

Yup. If we want to continue with our current plan of streaming and one disc, the monthly fee doubles to $15.98 per month. So until the new pricing plan and structure go into effect, we’ll stay with our current plan and see as many movies on DVD as we can but eventually switch to the streaming-only service.

In all honesty, I’m not a really big movie watcher and rarely (if ever) see first-run movies. The wife and kid are bigger moviegoers than I since I’m working most of the time and it gives them something to do, especially during the summer. So by the time a movie gets to Netflix on disc, chances are I won’t even bother to go through the hassle of putting it in my queue and turning on the Wii to watch it. We do, however, use Netflix for their streaming content which includes the entire The Twilight Zone series. Yeah, I stayed up late one night and watched them until I puked. Oh, and every James Bond movie is there, too. Not too shabby.

All in all, this change won’t affect us too much since, well, 90% of the time when we get a disc, it sits around – usually MIA on the kitchen table – until we decide to watch it which in some cases is never. As such, chances are we will stick to streaming-only should we decide to stay customers.

But besides the shows and movies I’ve mentioned, there’s only so many times you can watch lame ‘80s movies or foreign artsy-fartsy flicks, which makes me wonder if it will be something worth keeping.

If you’re looking for alternatives to Netflix, check out this post by Russ of Fat 2 Fit podcast fame. He’s compiled a pretty good list of ideas for consumers wanting to tell Netflix to get lost.

Yeesh, what else will go up in price this week?

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Published by Dave

Married with one son. Likes donuts and long walks on the beach. Got tired of being fat and lost 100 pounds. Prone to using '80s vernacular. Works as a proofreader. Was an extra in a few TV shows. Tries to be funny.

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8 thoughts on “Netflix Changes Pricing and Plans”

  2. Hey Dave,
    I am a big movie fan and watch a ton of movies, but when netflix changed there plan the last time, I had decided to go streaming only. I am sure in another 12 months they will up the price to $9.99 to make up for all the pissed off customers who will cancel this round. I think there is alot of upset netflix customers from what I read.
    I am sure this will be a boost to those redbox kiosks that have dollar dvds at the grocery stores. I had considered getting amazon prime since I shop there alot and get that streaming free with it, but when I looked at the choices it did seem much more limited.
    I cancelled my cable a long time ago, and just get the free digital channels over the air and have been using hulu and netflix for most of my viewing. Funny thing is I have more time now to do things since I got rid of the cable. I guess I can no longer zombie surf the 100+ channels looking for something decent to watch.
    Cheers!

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    1. As I said, I don’t watch many movies and I watch even less TV. I’m just not into it and at this point it’s just white noise as far as I’m concerned. But the family enjoys it so we’ll continue to pay for it.

      And I think you’re right about Redbox. It’s ultra-convenient to pick up a DVD while you’re out for a bike ride, picking up some milk, etc. I haven’t bothered looking at other services because, honestly, I just don’t care. I’d rather devote more of my time to keeping fit and blogging to be quite honest.

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  3. I’ve only been a Netflix subscriber since December and I recall reading articles back then stating that Netflix wanted to get away from the DVD service to focus on streaming so there would be price increases for the DVD service. Thus, I’m not surprised by this development but I didn’t expect them to double the rate.

    It doesn’t affect me because I only have streaming. I tried Blockbuster’s DVD service a couple of years ago but always forgot to send it back in a timely manner, lol, so I didn’t get my money’s worth. I love Netflix streaming because I love watching documentaries, independent films and British shows. (LOVE MI-5/Spooks, btw, and Netflix has all 80 episodes!) If they devote the extra income to purchasing more streaming programming, as I’ve read that they plan to do, then I’ll be very happy.

    But, yeah, what a stupid time for these companies to raise rates. Gas, food, everything is going up in price but wages aren’t, for those lucky enough to even have jobs. (I’m in Texas and the drought/incredible heat is killing the crops and forcing ranchers to sell off their herds because they can’t afford to feed them. If y’all think food prices are high now, just wait. It’s going to get much worse.)

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    1. I remember reading about the streaming-only service as well so the writing was pretty much on the wall already. I guess I just didn’t realize it would happen so “quickly.”

      I’m with you on the content of the streaming service, which we will be switching to eventually. That’s been my real hang-up about it since as I mentioned in the post, I just don’t watch it enough to begin with and aside from The Twilight Zone, I’m not entirely fond of the streaming content now. But if they go ahead and add more current movies to the streaming side (and I would imagine they would considering the circumstances), then it might be worth it — for the family, at least.

      Aside from that, I’m working a contract job that was scheduled to end in December so I’m way past my time there. Things keep rising and it sucks. I drive 20 miles to it (read: more gas) and make significantly less than I have in the past so I don’t bring home much when it’s all said and done. (Gas, however, is still not anywhere near where it was when I got rid of my Explorer years ago: $4.57/gal.) It’s not the longest commute but it still adds up, even in a 4-cylinder car. I’d quit and gladly take a local job that I could ride my bike to provided there were any available. So should I get let go in the near future, then Netflix is definitely going to be dropped. Right now, it’s just convenience for the family.

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