Netflix Streaming Only Option Launch & Price Changes
Netflix recently announced that they were offering up a new pricing model. If you only streamed from Netflix before, you’re probably happy with the changes. If you never streamed, you’re probably not happy because you are simply paying more now. And if you did both, you might be thinking about switching to streaming only.
Netflix has become a key component of those who wish to consume media without the high price cable bills. As a result, they have over 17 million members, the stock price is at $187, and the company profited $38 million on $553 million in revenue in Q3 2010. They’ve grown into an industry leader in both the at-home rental space and now in the streaming video space – so much so that they are somewhat immune to adverse effects when increasing prices. Let’s dive into the price hikes…
Netflix Price Changes
Here are the price changes that Netflix just launched:
New pricing option:
Unlimited streaming only is now offered for $7.99/mo.
Netflix Unlimited DVD Plans:
- 1 at a time: $8.99/mo. to $9.99/mo.
- 2 at a time: $13.99/mo. to $14.99/mo.
- 3 at a time: $16.99/mo. to $19.99/mo.
- 4 at a time: $23.99/mo to $27.99/mo.
…. and so on. Here’s the full list of Netflix plan prices.
My Take on the Netflix Changes
From everything I’ve seen, Netflix still has a lot of gaps in what is available on their streaming-only option. Offering it up as a new option is great as I’m sure there are users out there who only use the streaming option who will be very happy. At the same time, I’m sure streaming is much more profitable for Netflix than delivering DVD’s, so it’s a smart move for them.
Check out Netflix for more on the changes.
My questions to you are:
- Are you downgrading your plan or eliminating it altogether with the price hike?
- Are you moving to the streaming-only option with the price hike? (take the poll below)
Loading ...Related Posts:
I am G.E. Miller, & 
I’m not moving to the streaming option but I will be moving from the 3 at a time plan to only 2. It doesn’t make sense to me that the 2 plan is going up $1 but the 3plan is going up $3.
We have the 4 at a time plan, and we simply removed blu-ray from that which was a net decrease of $1 monthly.
Do you think this is a move to attract new subscribers who may want to stream content but use something like Red Box to get DVDs on demand?
My biggest complaint with their streaming is the lack of closed-captioning/subtitles. This obviously creates significant problems for the hearing-impaired.
There’s another option available, which I’m thinking about… I have long lists for both streaming and the discs and as such, I am thinking about switching only to streaming for a few months, until i’ve watched all those movies. I only have the 1 at a time plan with blu-ray right now, but since I haven’t watched a physical DVD in a month, it would make sense for me.
I probably won’t switch to streaming only – they just don’t have quite the selection for streaming yet that I want. However, I have been thinking about the streaming only Netflix plan coupled with RedBox whenever I want a new movie not available via streaming.
We have already downgraded our plan from 3-at-a-time to 2 as soon as we heard the news that they were going to raise our rates. At least the streaming selection is constantly being expanded…
Personally I don’t have much of a gripe with the price hike. When you compare to what you would pay to watch a movie if you bought it (~$20), to how many movies you can watch for 3 discs at a time for $20 a month, it’s still plenty worth it. How often do you re-watch movies you buy? Not often enough to justify buying, over just waiting a day to get it from Netflix.
I actually did a little analysis on this earlier this week. Check my Netflix post for more detail.
We stream and rent and we use blockbuster also, and we still save over paying for cable tv. They have some holes in their service, but it’s improving all the time. They now have almost every episode of QUantum Leap available.
The streaming only option is just so limited in your viewing choices. I can get the same movies and shows from my OnDemand for free, which is included in my cable bill. I won’t pay for that service…
My husband and I put our subscription on hold for three months to see if we miss having netflix. An extra $12 a year for a service we have noticed we are using less and less often just didn’t sit well with us. So for now we are taking a break from netflix. If we do go back it would depend on the month wether we use the streaming only or 1 dvd at a time program.
I use Netflix as a replacement for cable TV. I find that when I do get a DVD, I tend to hang onto it for several weeks until I remember to send it back so the streaming only makes a lot of sense for me. If I really want to watch something that is only on DVD I can upgrade at any time for only two bucks.
I haven’t gotten a Netflix account yet, but have been considering it for quite a while. Could anyone fill me in a bit on the pros and cons of each? I’d like to go for just the streaming option, but if I never use it it will just be a waste, and I’d rather go for the mail option as well. I’m thinking about using Netflix to replace my cable, as some others have said. Seems like a viable option?
I just rolled into my first “real” month after my trial. When we were in our trial (stream only) we had up 3- 4 devices streaming at once (5 people in my home). Now it will only stream 2 at once. I am really ticked that this was not explained. At least not where I can find it. I see nothing anywhere about this restriction. How do I get around this??
Ok, I for one am bitter. Look at their profit margin and how much they have grown and are now sticking it to their customers. I would be paying double now if I kept it the same. Screw netflix. I will use Hulu and rent from redbox and save. Netflix doesn’t have new episodes of tv shows, Hulu does on some. I only get 4 or 5 one at a time per month because it take a week to send and get the movie, so I can go to redbox and get it cheaper, less convienent, but cheaper. Screw you MS, I mean Apple, DOH, I mean Netflix!