I just read about the new Netflix Price Plans and options that are forthcoming and I, like many of the other Netflix members, are furious over the changes.

Before I get into a diatribe about it, let me show you what they have said:

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Netflix Introduces New Plans and Announces Price Changes

 Jessie Becker, here to share two significant changes at Netflix with you.

First, we are launching new DVD only plans. These plans offer our lowest prices ever for unlimited DVDs – only $7.99 a month for our 1 DVD out at-a-time plan and $11.99 a month for our 2 DVDs out at-a-time plan. By offering our lowest prices ever, we hope to provide great value to our current and future DVDs by mail members. New members can sign up for these plans by going to DVD.netflix.com.

Second, we are separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans to better reflect the costs of each and to give our members a choice: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan or the option to subscribe to both. With this change, we will no longer offer a plan that includes both unlimited streaming and DVDs by mail.

So for instance, our current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming), for $7.99 a month.

The price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). For new members, these changes are effective immediately; for existing members, the new pricing will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.

Why the changes?

Last November when we launched our $7.99 unlimited streaming plan, DVDs by mail was treated as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan. At the time, we didn’t anticipate offering DVD only plans. Since then we have realized that there is still a very large continuing demand for DVDs both from our existing members as well as non-members. Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs. Creating an unlimited DVDs by mail plan (no streaming) at our lowest price ever, $7.99, does make sense and will ensure a long life for our DVDs by mail offering. Reflecting our confidence that DVDs by mail is a long-term business for us, we are also establishing a separate and distinct management team solely focused on DVDs by mail, led by Andy Rendich, our Chief Service and Operations Officer and an 11 year veteran of Netflix.

Now we offer a choice: Unlimited Streaming for $7.99 a month, Unlimited DVDs for $7.99 a month, or both for $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). We think $7.99 is a terrific value for our unlimited streaming plan and $7.99 a terrific value for our unlimited DVD plan. We hope one, or both, of these plans makes sense for our members and their entertainment needs.

As always, our members can easily choose to change or cancel their unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both by visiting Your Account.

I’ve been a Netflix subscriber since late in the summer of 2007. I have talked Netflix up the wall to everyone and anyone who would listen or even be remotely interested in the product  (which if you don’t know what they do, Wikipedia discribes them as: is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming video in the United States and Canada,^[5] and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States.^[6])  I’d like to think that I’ve helped to send some business their way. But I find it a slap in the face to any and all loyal members who have been with them for as long as I have been to charge us current members the price of two separate plans. At the very least create some sort of discount for some of us! Is it that hard to ask for something.

Also, I hate to break it to you Netflix, but your streaming movies/TV show library isn’t the greatest. It’ll do, for now, but I’d like more new content added on a weekly basis. Content that I actually want to see.  And I know it isn’t your fault that the studios are now putting 30-60 day restrictions on how soon you can put DVDs out, but that really sucks. I would love to watch new movies when they come out and I’m not going to go buy them either. It is unfortunate that you’ve allowed that to happen.

Before fully implementing this to your current customer base, I would recommend thinking over the amount of money you are planning on charging us. I’m almost certain you will be shocked to see how we retaliate.