No surprise here. Netflix is to become a victim of their own success… and they’re gearing up to pay the content industry piper. Not to mention dealing in physical media (and the postal service) adds up. With that in mind, Netflix is introducing new rates today – plans that break out unlimited streaming from unlimited DVDs. New customers are subjected to the new (higher) rates as of today, whereas existing customers will be grandfathered at their current rates. But only until “your next billing period on or after Sep 01, 2011.”
My current plan runs $10 a month for unlimited streaming with a single DVD out at a time. I’ve been meaning to upgrade to Blu-ray, for another $2/month. And, so come September, my new rate would be $18/mo. But the truth is, I don’t watch much Netflix instant streaming these days. I prefer the Hulu Plus content, UI, and reliability with Amazon or Apple sufficiently satisfying my new release HD VOD needs. Plus, oodles upon oodles of cable channels to browse amongst and Redboxes all over the place.
So, given the imminent price hike and my limited usage, I’ve taken this opportunity to cancel Netflix. And it appears I’m not alone. Yet I imagine for heavy users of the service and/or those with interest in online streaming only ($7.99/mo), Netflix will remain valuable.
(via Hacking Netflix)
