In the last couple of weeks, there's been a big hullabaloo over Netflix raising its prices. Let's put it all in perspective. First off, to continue the plan I've been using, the ten buck "one disc out, unlimited streaming," will go up to 16 bucks. Okay, yes, that is a 60 percent increase. But let's put in perspective. I went out running tonight and ran 40% further than I ran last time. This meant, in reality, that this fifty-year-old ran 16 blocks instead of twelve. Sounds like a lot more when you say "40 percent," but in reality not much more. The fact of the matter is that at 16 bucks, my plan is still a great deal. My kids stream their South Park and scary movies and I stream my documentaries (many of which are only available this way), old television shows and artsy movies. And I can get my one disc at a time-- usually classics and more arty movies. And we can watch different shows at once, on our big tv connected to the Wii, on most of the household computers and even on our ipods.
I've followed Netflix-- and been a customer (as well as getting my folks started on it) for 6 or 7 years now. They've taken a daring business model and improved on it, as technology has changed. And they've actually been able to turn a well-deserved profit; according to Wikipedia, they turned a $283 million profit on a $2.17 billion gross, a healthy 13% profit. As they expand the percentage of their offerings as streaming, they'll absolutely have to pay more. That's the way the world works, kiddies; if they're offering more service, they'll have to pay a little more for it and so shall we. I still consider the sixteen bucks a month I pay for Netflix a bargain.
2 comments:
Agreed -- completely. Anyone who watches more than a few movies a month continues with a great bargain. Besides, the selection is large, whereas the movie houses usually show only blockbusters, for a lot of money per viewing. With NetFlix, I've been able to see scores and scores of movies I could never see otherwise.
Glad to see you're one of the voices of reason on debates like this. For $6 a month change I've seen people unload on the internet as if someone had stolen all their worldly possessions or something, it was a crazy time, especially when you consider their Quikster debacle that followed and was summarily dumped and swept under the rug when they realized that no one had any interest in dealing with two separate accounts.
Regardless of their tactless and clueless marketing changes of late, I'll continue to subscribe, as it really is the best deal out there.
And I fear change. ;-P
Hope all is well with you and yours!
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