I’ve been with Netflix since the beginning. In college, where I lived primarily in arctic East Coast temperatures, the idea of getting movies mailed to my warm dorm sounded just peachy compared to lacing up 20 lb. snow boots and trekking through the snow like a Siberian Husky to deal with high school dropouts who don’t know how to use a scanning device at Blockbuster. Netflix has always been near and dear to my heart, as well as the hearts of thousands of other tweeters on Twitter; you may have noticed the Dear Netflix TT recently. 
But the latest price hike Netflix is imposing on September 1, 2011, is unlike any that have come before. And it’s raising the ultimate red flag for consumers.
In their official blog, Netflix states that they think the new rates are a good value. Not too long ago, you may have noticed Netflix changed their site’s interface, clearly geared toward online streaming. According to them, they thought DVDs would have died out by now, but apparently they’re going to remain popular longer than expected. As a result, they’re separating the DVD-to-home and instant streaming options, clearly with hopes that people will stop renting DVDs. The real reason for the price hike seems to be that acquiring licenses for films in their streaming database is becoming increasingly more expensive. Simply put, Netflix is covering its ass to keep revenue up, even if it hurts our bank accounts. There are other options out there, but I’ve put so much time into my queue and rating history, I’m not so sure I am ready to jump ship. So, if we are going to bear with Netflix yet again, let’s revise our monthly or yearly budgets and see how Netflix’s price hikes will affect them.
Currently, I get 1 DVD out at a time and the ability to stream as many movies available as I want for $9.99/month. Pretty sweet. At best, I can rent 2 movies a week and stream a couple per week, as well. I never do, but I could. So that’s 8 DVDs a month and 8+ instant streams per month for the savvy user for $10 bucks. If you want to keep doing that, well, that will cost you $16 bucks a month starting September 1. That’s a 60% hike.
So, here are your new Netflix payment options:
If you’re like me and you let DVDs sit on your mantle for a while…
- $4.99/mo for 2 DVD rentals a month is still available
- $12.98/mo for 2 DVDs/mo and streaming
Otherwise, you’re looking at:
- $7.99/mo gets you 1 DVD at a time, unlimited rentals
- $7.99/mo gets you unlimited streaming (keep in mind there are more DVD options than those to stream, at the moment)
- $15.98/mo for both
- $11.99/mo gets you 2 DVDs out at a time, unlimited rentals
- $19.98/mo if you want 2 DVDs at a time and streaming access
- $23.98/mo for 3 at a time, unlimited plus streaming
- $29.98/mo for 4 unlimited DVDs at a time plus streaming so on and so forth
Am I forgetting something? Oh, yeah! That fancy Blu-Ray player you just got. You’ll have to tack on another $2/month for Blu-Ray rentals.
Now you’re dealing with:
$6.99/mo, $14.98/mo, $9.99, $17.98/mo, $13.99/mo, $21.98/mo, $25.98/mo, $31.98/mo, respectively (according to the prices above).
Don’t have a Blu-Ray player and looking to upgrade? That’s a solid $125.
Want one with wi-fi to stream Netflix on it? Now you’re looking at almost $200.
Don’t forget an HDMI cable. $20.
Got a slow connection DSL at home? Might want to upgrade to more MBPS for the highest quality, uninterupted streaming. Depending on your provider, that could run in the ballpark of $30-$40 a month.
You get the picture.
What are we looking at over the course of a year?
Let’s say you want to stream and get the newest movies on DVD. $16/mo for a year is $200 with taxes.
Let’s assume you’re like me and are shopping around for Netflix capable Blu-Ray players that aren’t a store brand and their internet is way too slow. Tack on $200 for the player and faster internet at $30/month and now we’re looking at around $760.
Do you have over $750 in your yearly budget for movies? How many times to you go to the theater a month? How many 3D movies do you see? IMAX? Occasionally rent a Pay Per View? What if you want to take a date? Figure in what will soon be approx $14 per ticket at around 2 movie trips per month… and that’s another $350. You’ve already cracked the $1000 barrier on entertainment.
Looking for a more economical option that doesn’t force you to eat ramen inside of a cardboard box just to feed your film and TV addiction?
Redbox rental stations are in grocery stores all over. You can rent a DVD for $1 a day. The downfall is actually having to use your legs and get to the store, unlike Netflix who delivers to your mailbox. And, if you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, this isn’t very convenient when you only get the movie for a day. Have kids of a barking dog and you might not get to enjoy that movie in 24 hrs.
Hulu Plus offers streaming for $7.99 a month like Netflix, but you’ll have to watch advertisements! Oh em gee! Nobody likes those…
Amazon Prime will set you back $79 a year, and in addition to its shipping benefits, you can access their online streaming database with your membership, however, you will have limited access and will have to pay extra to see some selections.
If you really want to stick it to Netflix, you can sign up for Blockbuster Online. It’s more expensive at $11.99 for DVDs and $3.99 for a streaming rental, but the difference is they offer movies 28 days sooner than Netflix gets them. Not so economical after all, though.
Over 5,000 people have chimed in on this poll and less than 9% are willing to pay $16 a month for DVDs and Streaming services. Netflix might want to rethink their strategy if they want to keep their loyal customers loyal.
A week ago, I was all set on the Netflix Blu-Ray player I wanted. An extra $75 a year is making me rethink things. Best solution? A domestic partnership or roommate in which one person pays for the DVD and one person pays for the streaming –just split the player and Internet cost down the middle.
What’s your yearly movie budget and which rental option are you leaning towards?
