49 ms·

Netflix to raise prices by 13% to 18%

45 points by jmsflknr 8y ago

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
Well, the golden age of streaming was great until it lasted. With competition increasing alongside Netflix's prices I'm sure we're going to issues soon. I bought a new TV last week, and it came with dedicated buttons for Netflix and Amazon Prime. I should have asked if they will put out a better remote next year when I want to have Disney, Hulu, and CBS all Access on there too.
- adrianmonk 8y ago
  That's how Roku remotes look. A current gen remote has dedicated buttons (with logos) for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and CBS All Access. I saw an older one recently, and it had buttons for Netflix and Blockbuster. I had forgotten that Blockbuster ever had a streaming service.
  - PascLeRasc 8y ago
    I really wish you could remap Roku remotes. I'd love a "random episode of Frasier" button.
    - crooked-v 8y ago
      Don't forget a Doom Button that randomly selects from the worst X% of Star Trek, Friends, and Simpsons episodes.
  - adrianmonk 8y ago
    (Too late to edit, so replying to myself.) Correction: Netflix, Sling, Hulu, and CBS All Access. No Amazon button.
    - scarface74 8y ago
      It depends on who is paying them this month. Each of my Roku remotes have different buttons but of course they always have Netflix.
bryanlarsen 8y ago
The average cable bill is $107. So we know Americans are willing to pay at least that much for TV. Streaming currently competes on price, but they know full well that they can make a lot more money if they can compete on content rather than on price...
- chooseaname 8y ago
  Part of that $107 is internet access.
  - ct0 8y ago
    Not safe to assume that. My internet only bill (gigabit over coax) was just bumped to $105
  - josefresco 8y ago
    If you're lucky. Cut my cable last year, didn't have anything extravagant and our bill was easily $100 just for TV.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    Paying for fastish (300 Mbps) internet and TV is $175 for me.
  - jsight 8y ago
    Honestly, $107 with internet and a good lineup is a bargain. Most of the prices that I see around $100 don't actually include internet. Dish/DirecTV packages that run over $100 certainly don't include internet.
- corey_moncure 8y ago
  I pay $100 for internet only because I literally have no choice.
JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
Interesting, I was just talking about cancelling all our streaming with my girlfriend last night. I'm tired of just how bad the quality is. Most Netflix Originals aren't even at Lifetime movie quality when looked at objectively.
- azhenley 8y ago
  Really? I watch them sparingly but I'm consistently shocked at the production value. They are the quality of movies split in episodes!
  - JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
    For me there is just a glossy saccharine feel to them. No substance, all flash. Or things they have just bought cheaply from overseas and they are passing off as a "Netflix Original." Of course there are always exceptions. I found Stranger Things to be really high quality. Things like their Lost in Space so much less so. I don't want that bare minimum, or "just good enough" they put into it to become the new norm in filmmaking. To me, films should be an art form.
- jerf 8y ago
  For myself, I've been pursuing a strategy where I rotate the streaming service. We use Sling during the times of the year where we care about it. We probably get about two months of Hulu every couple of years, and catch up on the stuff we want. I'd rotate Netflix if the kids weren't using it for morning cartoons so much. I'd rotate Amazon Prime if I weren't using Prime for things unrelated to the streaming, and I probably ought to run the math on that even so. I rotate some other more obscure services like anime streaming. I mix in some other things I can't get any other way via purchasing them directly from Amazon. (Still surprised there aren't any other streaming services that have adopted the "default catalog for free + purchase premium content" the way Amazon has.) Because streaming services tend to retain their catalogs, you don't necessarily need to have all of them all the time. Especially if you can disconnect yourself from the need to watch "the latest episode" of something that comes out every week. I'm the only one in my family that has, really, but it's worth it if you can cultivate the mindset. You also sometimes get the "Waaaaah! We want you back!" deals, too, which makes it even cheaper. I'm doing what I do for other reasons, but, hey, you want to do that for me, whatevs. The end result is that not only are you generally at like $20/month, you frequently have something you're excited to watch as a new service rotates in that you've not had for a year, in a way that you don't if you just have all of them all the time.
jeffwass 8y ago
Has anyone felt that Netflix’s UI has deteriorated massively? I’ve had it on appleTV for several years. It used to be really easy to browse and find content. But they’ve completely changed the app and now I feel you either need to know what to specifically look for, or happen to find something in the random “suggestions since you’ve watched X” on the main menu which are a fairly random set of X’s. They even (as far as I can tell) got rid of the helpful list of alternate suggestions when you select a specific movie. I don’t understand the need for insane UI’s, do companies feel they must make major UI changes so it looks like they’re not stagnating? Another theory someone said about their complicated UI is that they perhaps massively reduced the size of the available library, and a convoluted UI hides this fact.
- magicalhippo 8y ago
  Yep. I was actually thinking several times over the last month that I should discontinue Netflix as I don't use it as often as I wish due to the user experience. I think about putting on a film but then I think about the constant barrage of trailers and the difficulty of finding something good (recommendations are useless), so usually I end up dropping the idea. Just need to finish Altered Carbon and I'll be dropping it.
  - dazc 8y ago
    '(recommendations are useless)' You've watched 12 horror movies so, guess what, we're recommending this crock of ___ because it is also a horror movie... Seems to be the sophistication of it?
    - magicalhippo 8y ago
      So first off, thumbs up and thumbs down is dumb. There are movies which are really great, there are movies that aren't but are still worth watching, there are movies that aren't great and aren't really worth watching, and then there's the movies with Adam Sandler or Amy Schumer in them... And reasons for liking a film could be that I liked the cinematography, or the script, or maybe just one actor, and not just that it was a horror movie. Take for example Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010). It's weird, the story wasn't all that for me, the ending is weak. But I loved the way the director shoot it as an 80's sci-fi film, really capturing the look and feel of those films. And well, I love slightly weird movies. So overall it's a movie I really enjoyed watching, and will likely watch again a few times. So just how would Netflix interpret my thumbs up for this movie? I've rated literally hundreds of movies in Netflix. I still get 90+% match recommendations that I can tell just from the poster and blurb that I'll hate (and my control for this are the movies I've watched elsewhere and hated). I've found some of the sub-50% match movies to be great, and really enjoyed watching them. I know Netflix had this machine learning contest a few years back, looking for winners who made better recommendations than their own algorithm. But IMO it's just gotten worse and worse.
AimForTheBushes 8y ago
Goodbye Netflix. Going to cancel my acc... Oh wait, I'm using someone else's account.
T3RMINATED 8y ago
Boycott Netflix. They offer garbage content yet want more money, for what? Another Adam Sandlers or Nicholas Cage movie?
michaelflux 8y ago
We have gone a full circle from having cable with a bunch of separate overpriced packages which you buy for the sake of having access to one or two shows, to having the internet where you're signing up for equally as expensive packages and services all for the sake of having access to one or two shows on their platform. As long as the content providers continue to make it so difficult, piracy will win, if nothing else when it comes to convenience.
- dudul 8y ago
  It was pretty easy to predict right? And it's gonna get worse when people need to sign up with Netflix, Disney, Amazon, etc because they like one show from each. I guess we got the ability to watch whenever we want, including all seasons being available right away.
  - dexterdog 8y ago
    The 1-time season dump model from Netflix is IMO the worst thing to come out of all of this.
- bryanlarsen 8y ago
  What's the alternative? IMO Apple's season pass was a great idea. $10 a month can either buy you two shows you want and a 1000 you don't (Netflix et al) or it can buy you 4 shows you want. (season pass). But consumers have spoken and season pass is a failure.
  - dexterdog 8y ago
    Maybe that's because $2.50/mo/show is too much. Also, paying by the show doesn't give you the ability to check out a show on a recommendation that you may or may not want to really watch.
    - bryanlarsen 8y ago
      That's a lot cheaper than cable for most people. People pay > $100/month for cable, which would pay for 30 - 40 shows from Season Pass. How many people actively watch more than 30-40 shows?
pwaivers 8y ago
I will still happily pay for Netflix. I can share an account with my family, and the quality is still very high IMO.
- choward 8y ago
  I am the only user of my Netflix account and knowing that I'm paying the same as you makes me want to cancel.
humantiy 8y ago
This is the nail for me. Their original content has been lackluster at best and for them to be pushing that as the reason for the price hike is no good. It was the reason for the last few hikes as well and nothing has changed. There have been a few that are interesting to watch (stranger things of course), but for every one that is good there are at least 20 that are garbage. If they want to put out original content fine, but they need to go for quality not quantity like they are. It's like they don't say no to anything people create under netflix. This on top of the fact that in the last 2 years and into this year they've basically butchered their catalog of tv/movies from other companies (fox,disney, ect..) to where if those are the things I want to watch I might as well go else where. I'm not saying that's their fault, but I'm sure they could strike a deal with these media companies if they like vs spending the money on originals that are just there to fill the UI.
- r3bl 8y ago
  Originals can be shown worldwide. They'll have to get a worldwide license for other content. A huge chunk of international content are original stand ups because they're easy to make. The amount of licensed content available in my country is pretty negligible.
Phillips126 8y ago
Am I happy about a price hike? No.. but it still beats the hell out of cable which I found myself paying $100+/mo to watch mostly commercials. I couldn't take it anymore. I agree that the Netflix content can be hit-or-miss.. usually more miss.. but it does have some movies and shows on there I find myself coming back to and re-watching. It also keeps my kids entertained with their selection of cartoons/animated shows so that is a plus. We don't watch many TV shows, but we do have a Hulu (commercial free subscription) which again is quite affordable. All in all, I still feel that I have a better alternative to cable/satellite TV. If prices continue to climb to the point where they are closer in cost, I may re-evaluate this again.
w1nt3rmu4e 8y ago
It's amazing how many people here -- presumably reasonably successful people -- are butt hurt about paying a few more dollars a month for unlimited, high quality (in terms of streaming quality) content. I fail to see this as a cynical attempt to squeeze more money out of consumers. Netflix is cheap. Really, really cheap. They're putting a ton of money into original content. The streaming quality is fantastic. No, it's not all amazing content. How much f'n content do you need? Get off the damn couch, go outside, get some work done, whatever.
- npongratz 8y ago
  Well, Netflix did claim at one time that their goal was to offer the ability for anyone to stream any movie ever created. So I guess I'm "butt-hurt" (/s, not really, I rarely believe these people's claimed goals) that some executive made a promise that they did not keep. https://www.wired.com/2009/09/ff-netflix/ https://www.wired.com/2009/09/ff-netflix/
  - TheLoneAdmin 8y ago
    What's the better option?
    - npongratz 8y ago
      Don't make promises you know you can't or won't keep. Edit: To clarify, the above is advice for execs and marketing types. Alternatively, as a listener, don't believe any marketing you read.
- spacehome 8y ago
  > unlimited ??? Netflix is quite limited. It doesn't even have Seinfeld, which my Plex Media Server does.
- choward 8y ago
  > They're putting a ton of money into original conten What if I want the same service I originally signed up for and not this bait and switch crap. I didn't ask them to make their own shows and get rid of good ones. Why should I have to pay extra for it? > Get off the damn couch, go outside, get some work done, whatever. Cancel Netflix. Great idea.
40acres 8y ago
I really don't understand some of the pearl clutching in this thread when it comes to "re-bundling", you can get Netflix, Hulu and HBO for less than half of any non-promotional cable package out there (not including discounts for Netflix and Hulu via subscriptions through other platforms). How much TV do you watch??
- choward 8y ago
  It's not how much you watch. It's being able to watch what you want. Suppose one of those three don't have the thing I want to watch, now I have to sign up for another bundle?
  - baumandm 8y ago
    Yes, but it likely would still be less than cable packages. Cable services are not known for being able to watch what you want: * Basic gives you 10 channels you don't want * Enhanced gives you 2 channels you want and 38 you don't want * Deluxe gives you 5 channels you want and 105 you don't want * Sports gives you ESPN, and 20 other obscure sports channels Like Netflix, you get a bunch of stuff you don't want and a little bit of stuff you do want. This makes it broadly desirable to more people.
Polarity 8y ago
Does someone feel that most netflix (and hollywood) movies are pretty "empty"? It´s like watching something while watching nothing.
amelius 8y ago
Hopefully this will increase the number of seeders on bittorrent ...
jdc0589 8y ago
So, this comes at weird time for me. I haven't had an HTPC/Plex setup powered up for over 3 years because one or two streaming subscriptions got the job done. But, the streaming services are all, mostly, focusing on their own content (which is OK, I guess), loosing rights to 3rd party content frequently, and now apparently raising prices. This means I no longer have easy access to what I frequently want to watch at a good price. I fired Plex back up a few days ago, and I suspect I'll kill off at least one streaming subscription soon (probably hulu). I'm also really enjoying watching stuff without MASSIVE ARTIFACTS EVERYWHERE in dark scenes (all streaming services are pretty affected by this, its damn near unavoidable). This is great and all, but I don't actually want to or enjoy having to run plex, manage storage space, and spend the time/money acquiring + ripping used blurays or otherwise obtaining high quality content. I want to pay for a single streaming provider on a subscription model and have access to everything, and I'd probably pay what it cost, but that's not really an option anymore....
- xnyan 8y ago
  the part you may be missing are two programs called sonarr and radarr. those take care of the "otherwise" part more or less automatically.
akerro 8y ago
What's the difference now between online streaming providers and cable? Now to watch what I like, I would have to have AmazonPrime, Netflix, HBO and BBC Player. Netflix is now no different than cables were 15 years ago. Ads were replaced with webtracking and profiling. They are constantly removing 3rd party movies and TV shows, adding their own production which usually is quite bad (less than 6 stars on IMBD) and now increasing prices?
- baumandm 8y ago
  I agree with you and I'm concerned that the streaming market is going in a less-user-friendly direction. That said, for me Amazon Prime is $10, Netflix HD is $13, and HBO is $15. I can't get get BBC in the US, so let's swap in Hulu for $8/month. Total that's $46 per month for 4 of the largest streaming video services. Whereas the average cable bill is now $107[1]. The other advantage is that you can pick and choose exactly what you want to subscribe to. Don't watch Netflix originals? You can drop it and subscribe to Disney's new service. Or Acorn TV, CBS All Access, DirecTV Now, ESPN+, FilmStruck, etc. [1] https://www.leichtmanresearch.com/78-of-tv-households-subscribe-to-a-pay-tv-service/ https://www.leichtmanresearch.com/78-of-tv-households-subscr...
- wilsonnb3 8y ago
  > What's the difference now between online streaming providers and cable? Have you ever even used cable? Online streaming is vastly superior. You get to choose what you want to watch instead of watching whatever is on. You can watch it on a much wider variety of devices than just your tv. It’s much cheaper than cable. There are no ads.
  - akerro 8y ago
    >Have you ever even used cable? It's just modern version of TV with extra steps. >You get to choose what you want to watch instead of watching whatever is on. Unless something is no available in your country in any of 10 streaming providers. >You can watch it on a much wider variety of devices than just your tv. In 2001 I had a TV card in my computer and was able to watch forward TV stream to panasonic digital camera screen by some wired yellow cable. >It’s much cheaper than cable. Not in every country, my parents pay ~$4/mth for cable TV. Netflix is almost 4x that. >There are no ads. But that's modern version of TV, you have targeted content and user profiling instead of ads
dazc 8y ago
Well, at least for the moment, it's easy enough to cancel and pick up again in a few month's time when there is sufficient new content to justify the price? If it were not for this option I would be exclusive to amazon by now.
iambateman 8y ago
I think we can expect Netflix to go from ~$13/mo to ~$40/mo over the course of the next 30 years. For now they’re content to suck the life out of the networks. But generations of Americans have shown a willingness to pay $99/mo or more for their entertainment, which Netflix is pleased to provide. We are the frogs in their pot, slowly being boiled. But, oh my, is it ever a nice hot tub.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  By that time all of the content I’ll ever watch will be on an SSD, managed and streamed by the successor of Plex.
- velcrovan 8y ago
  I think we can expect that purely because of normal inflation. $40 per year in 2048 would reflect a 4% annual increase. So if your price prediction is correct, it doesn't really say much about the streaming content market specifically.
  - iambateman 8y ago
    I meant to say inflation adjusted. Going from $13 to $40 in 2019 dollars is a substantial shift.
- UncleMeat 8y ago
  And that'll still be less than half of what a cable bill costs today. Over 30 years we'd expect to see an 80% increase just from inflation. Boiled frogs?
swamp40 8y ago
I'd pay good money for a Rotten Tomatoes score for each Netflix movie. The Netflix Recommendation Engine is nothing more than an attempt to sell you bad movies.
oflannabhra 8y ago
I've been wondering if the last Great Unbundling will be followed by another Great Rebundling. I'm no expert in any of this, but it seems unlikely that the new "channels" of Netflix et al. will prevent their programming and delivery methods from be bundled until it becomes disadvantageous to their growth (ie monthly subscriptions can't generate enough revenue). It seems to me there is an explosion of content that will be able to be monetized far beyond just subscription lock-in. I wonder what the method of monetization will be after the gold-rush of building subscriber bases? Netflix's original proposition and value was one of convenience (and price), but I wonder how long that will last. Will households juggle 4+ subscriptions of $15/mo? I'm not sure that is why cord-cutters originally cancelled their cable subscriptions. My off-the-top-of-my-head list of current and coming soon subscription services (that also produce content) is: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, YouTube, CBS, Disney/Fox, NBC, Apple. Technologically, it seems like there are some serious hurdles to "bundling" these together. I wonder if the future "bundle" will actually be a service that manages subscriptions for you, with things like highlighting newly available shows since the last time you subscribed.
sjg007 8y ago
I find that bundling is actually taking place. With every major cell phone provider you can get a plan that bundles in netflix/prime/hulu/directv now respectively. Also comcast now offers it's own xfinity wireless plan. And since everyone has a cell phone it starts to make sense to bundle.
Simulacra 8y ago
As a family we pay for a group of streaming services, and I don't really mind a pay increase. We're on FiOS now and anything is better than paying comcast to do anything.
gnulinux 8y ago
Isn't this just inflation?
sys_64738 8y ago
It's still less than the cost of a DVD so more power to Netflix's programming!
stunt 8y ago
I might just drop it as I don't use it much.

45 points by jmsflknr 8y ago

Well, the golden age of streaming was great until it lasted. With competition increasing alongside Netflix's prices I'm sure we're going to issues soon. I bought a new TV last week, and it came with dedicated buttons for Netflix and Amazon Prime. I should have asked if they will put out a better remote next year when I want to have Disney, Hulu, and CBS all Access on there too.

adrianmonk 8y ago
That's how Roku remotes look. A current gen remote has dedicated buttons (with logos) for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and CBS All Access. I saw an older one recently, and it had buttons for Netflix and Blockbuster. I had forgotten that Blockbuster ever had a streaming service.
- PascLeRasc 8y ago
  I really wish you could remap Roku remotes. I'd love a "random episode of Frasier" button.
  - crooked-v 8y ago
    Don't forget a Doom Button that randomly selects from the worst X% of Star Trek, Friends, and Simpsons episodes.
- adrianmonk 8y ago
  (Too late to edit, so replying to myself.) Correction: Netflix, Sling, Hulu, and CBS All Access. No Amazon button.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    It depends on who is paying them this month. Each of my Roku remotes have different buttons but of course they always have Netflix.

bryanlarsen 8y ago

The average cable bill is $107. So we know Americans are willing to pay at least that much for TV. Streaming currently competes on price, but they know full well that they can make a lot more money if they can compete on content rather than on price...

chooseaname 8y ago
Part of that $107 is internet access.
- ct0 8y ago
  Not safe to assume that. My internet only bill (gigabit over coax) was just bumped to $105
- josefresco 8y ago
  If you're lucky. Cut my cable last year, didn't have anything extravagant and our bill was easily $100 just for TV.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  Paying for fastish (300 Mbps) internet and TV is $175 for me.
- jsight 8y ago
  Honestly, $107 with internet and a good lineup is a bargain. Most of the prices that I see around $100 don't actually include internet. Dish/DirecTV packages that run over $100 certainly don't include internet.
corey_moncure 8y ago
I pay $100 for internet only because I literally have no choice.

JohnJamesRambo 8y ago

Interesting, I was just talking about cancelling all our streaming with my girlfriend last night. I'm tired of just how bad the quality is. Most Netflix Originals aren't even at Lifetime movie quality when looked at objectively.

azhenley 8y ago
Really? I watch them sparingly but I'm consistently shocked at the production value. They are the quality of movies split in episodes!
- JohnJamesRambo 8y ago
  For me there is just a glossy saccharine feel to them. No substance, all flash. Or things they have just bought cheaply from overseas and they are passing off as a "Netflix Original." Of course there are always exceptions. I found Stranger Things to be really high quality. Things like their Lost in Space so much less so. I don't want that bare minimum, or "just good enough" they put into it to become the new norm in filmmaking. To me, films should be an art form.
jerf 8y ago
For myself, I've been pursuing a strategy where I rotate the streaming service. We use Sling during the times of the year where we care about it. We probably get about two months of Hulu every couple of years, and catch up on the stuff we want. I'd rotate Netflix if the kids weren't using it for morning cartoons so much. I'd rotate Amazon Prime if I weren't using Prime for things unrelated to the streaming, and I probably ought to run the math on that even so. I rotate some other more obscure services like anime streaming. I mix in some other things I can't get any other way via purchasing them directly from Amazon. (Still surprised there aren't any other streaming services that have adopted the "default catalog for free + purchase premium content" the way Amazon has.) Because streaming services tend to retain their catalogs, you don't necessarily need to have all of them all the time. Especially if you can disconnect yourself from the need to watch "the latest episode" of something that comes out every week. I'm the only one in my family that has, really, but it's worth it if you can cultivate the mindset. You also sometimes get the "Waaaaah! We want you back!" deals, too, which makes it even cheaper. I'm doing what I do for other reasons, but, hey, you want to do that for me, whatevs. The end result is that not only are you generally at like $20/month, you frequently have something you're excited to watch as a new service rotates in that you've not had for a year, in a way that you don't if you just have all of them all the time.

jeffwass 8y ago

Has anyone felt that Netflix’s UI has deteriorated massively? I’ve had it on appleTV for several years. It used to be really easy to browse and find content. But they’ve completely changed the app and now I feel you either need to know what to specifically look for, or happen to find something in the random “suggestions since you’ve watched X” on the main menu which are a fairly random set of X’s. They even (as far as I can tell) got rid of the helpful list of alternate suggestions when you select a specific movie. I don’t understand the need for insane UI’s, do companies feel they must make major UI changes so it looks like they’re not stagnating? Another theory someone said about their complicated UI is that they perhaps massively reduced the size of the available library, and a convoluted UI hides this fact.

magicalhippo 8y ago
Yep. I was actually thinking several times over the last month that I should discontinue Netflix as I don't use it as often as I wish due to the user experience. I think about putting on a film but then I think about the constant barrage of trailers and the difficulty of finding something good (recommendations are useless), so usually I end up dropping the idea. Just need to finish Altered Carbon and I'll be dropping it.
- dazc 8y ago
  '(recommendations are useless)' You've watched 12 horror movies so, guess what, we're recommending this crock of ___ because it is also a horror movie... Seems to be the sophistication of it?
  - magicalhippo 8y ago
    So first off, thumbs up and thumbs down is dumb. There are movies which are really great, there are movies that aren't but are still worth watching, there are movies that aren't great and aren't really worth watching, and then there's the movies with Adam Sandler or Amy Schumer in them... And reasons for liking a film could be that I liked the cinematography, or the script, or maybe just one actor, and not just that it was a horror movie. Take for example Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010). It's weird, the story wasn't all that for me, the ending is weak. But I loved the way the director shoot it as an 80's sci-fi film, really capturing the look and feel of those films. And well, I love slightly weird movies. So overall it's a movie I really enjoyed watching, and will likely watch again a few times. So just how would Netflix interpret my thumbs up for this movie? I've rated literally hundreds of movies in Netflix. I still get 90+% match recommendations that I can tell just from the poster and blurb that I'll hate (and my control for this are the movies I've watched elsewhere and hated). I've found some of the sub-50% match movies to be great, and really enjoyed watching them. I know Netflix had this machine learning contest a few years back, looking for winners who made better recommendations than their own algorithm. But IMO it's just gotten worse and worse.

AimForTheBushes 8y ago

Goodbye Netflix. Going to cancel my acc... Oh wait, I'm using someone else's account.

T3RMINATED 8y ago

Boycott Netflix. They offer garbage content yet want more money, for what? Another Adam Sandlers or Nicholas Cage movie?

michaelflux 8y ago

We have gone a full circle from having cable with a bunch of separate overpriced packages which you buy for the sake of having access to one or two shows, to having the internet where you're signing up for equally as expensive packages and services all for the sake of having access to one or two shows on their platform. As long as the content providers continue to make it so difficult, piracy will win, if nothing else when it comes to convenience.

dudul 8y ago
It was pretty easy to predict right? And it's gonna get worse when people need to sign up with Netflix, Disney, Amazon, etc because they like one show from each. I guess we got the ability to watch whenever we want, including all seasons being available right away.
- dexterdog 8y ago
  The 1-time season dump model from Netflix is IMO the worst thing to come out of all of this.
bryanlarsen 8y ago
What's the alternative? IMO Apple's season pass was a great idea. $10 a month can either buy you two shows you want and a 1000 you don't (Netflix et al) or it can buy you 4 shows you want. (season pass). But consumers have spoken and season pass is a failure.
- dexterdog 8y ago
  Maybe that's because $2.50/mo/show is too much. Also, paying by the show doesn't give you the ability to check out a show on a recommendation that you may or may not want to really watch.
  - bryanlarsen 8y ago
    That's a lot cheaper than cable for most people. People pay > $100/month for cable, which would pay for 30 - 40 shows from Season Pass. How many people actively watch more than 30-40 shows?

pwaivers 8y ago

I will still happily pay for Netflix. I can share an account with my family, and the quality is still very high IMO.

choward 8y ago
I am the only user of my Netflix account and knowing that I'm paying the same as you makes me want to cancel.

humantiy 8y ago

This is the nail for me. Their original content has been lackluster at best and for them to be pushing that as the reason for the price hike is no good. It was the reason for the last few hikes as well and nothing has changed. There have been a few that are interesting to watch (stranger things of course), but for every one that is good there are at least 20 that are garbage. If they want to put out original content fine, but they need to go for quality not quantity like they are. It's like they don't say no to anything people create under netflix. This on top of the fact that in the last 2 years and into this year they've basically butchered their catalog of tv/movies from other companies (fox,disney, ect..) to where if those are the things I want to watch I might as well go else where. I'm not saying that's their fault, but I'm sure they could strike a deal with these media companies if they like vs spending the money on originals that are just there to fill the UI.

r3bl 8y ago
Originals can be shown worldwide. They'll have to get a worldwide license for other content. A huge chunk of international content are original stand ups because they're easy to make. The amount of licensed content available in my country is pretty negligible.

Phillips126 8y ago

Am I happy about a price hike? No.. but it still beats the hell out of cable which I found myself paying $100+/mo to watch mostly commercials. I couldn't take it anymore. I agree that the Netflix content can be hit-or-miss.. usually more miss.. but it does have some movies and shows on there I find myself coming back to and re-watching. It also keeps my kids entertained with their selection of cartoons/animated shows so that is a plus. We don't watch many TV shows, but we do have a Hulu (commercial free subscription) which again is quite affordable. All in all, I still feel that I have a better alternative to cable/satellite TV. If prices continue to climb to the point where they are closer in cost, I may re-evaluate this again.

w1nt3rmu4e 8y ago

It's amazing how many people here -- presumably reasonably successful people -- are butt hurt about paying a few more dollars a month for unlimited, high quality (in terms of streaming quality) content. I fail to see this as a cynical attempt to squeeze more money out of consumers. Netflix is cheap. Really, really cheap. They're putting a ton of money into original content. The streaming quality is fantastic. No, it's not all amazing content. How much f'n content do you need? Get off the damn couch, go outside, get some work done, whatever.

npongratz 8y ago
Well, Netflix did claim at one time that their goal was to offer the ability for anyone to stream any movie ever created. So I guess I'm "butt-hurt" (/s, not really, I rarely believe these people's claimed goals) that some executive made a promise that they did not keep. https://www.wired.com/2009/09/ff-netflix/ https://www.wired.com/2009/09/ff-netflix/
- TheLoneAdmin 8y ago
  What's the better option?
  - npongratz 8y ago
    Don't make promises you know you can't or won't keep. Edit: To clarify, the above is advice for execs and marketing types. Alternatively, as a listener, don't believe any marketing you read.
spacehome 8y ago
> unlimited ??? Netflix is quite limited. It doesn't even have Seinfeld, which my Plex Media Server does.
choward 8y ago
> They're putting a ton of money into original conten What if I want the same service I originally signed up for and not this bait and switch crap. I didn't ask them to make their own shows and get rid of good ones. Why should I have to pay extra for it? > Get off the damn couch, go outside, get some work done, whatever. Cancel Netflix. Great idea.

40acres 8y ago

I really don't understand some of the pearl clutching in this thread when it comes to "re-bundling", you can get Netflix, Hulu and HBO for less than half of any non-promotional cable package out there (not including discounts for Netflix and Hulu via subscriptions through other platforms). How much TV do you watch??

choward 8y ago
It's not how much you watch. It's being able to watch what you want. Suppose one of those three don't have the thing I want to watch, now I have to sign up for another bundle?
- baumandm 8y ago
  Yes, but it likely would still be less than cable packages. Cable services are not known for being able to watch what you want: * Basic gives you 10 channels you don't want * Enhanced gives you 2 channels you want and 38 you don't want * Deluxe gives you 5 channels you want and 105 you don't want * Sports gives you ESPN, and 20 other obscure sports channels Like Netflix, you get a bunch of stuff you don't want and a little bit of stuff you do want. This makes it broadly desirable to more people.

Polarity 8y ago

Does someone feel that most netflix (and hollywood) movies are pretty "empty"? It´s like watching something while watching nothing.

amelius 8y ago

Hopefully this will increase the number of seeders on bittorrent ...

jdc0589 8y ago

So, this comes at weird time for me. I haven't had an HTPC/Plex setup powered up for over 3 years because one or two streaming subscriptions got the job done. But, the streaming services are all, mostly, focusing on their own content (which is OK, I guess), loosing rights to 3rd party content frequently, and now apparently raising prices. This means I no longer have easy access to what I frequently want to watch at a good price. I fired Plex back up a few days ago, and I suspect I'll kill off at least one streaming subscription soon (probably hulu). I'm also really enjoying watching stuff without MASSIVE ARTIFACTS EVERYWHERE in dark scenes (all streaming services are pretty affected by this, its damn near unavoidable). This is great and all, but I don't actually want to or enjoy having to run plex, manage storage space, and spend the time/money acquiring + ripping used blurays or otherwise obtaining high quality content. I want to pay for a single streaming provider on a subscription model and have access to everything, and I'd probably pay what it cost, but that's not really an option anymore....

xnyan 8y ago
the part you may be missing are two programs called sonarr and radarr. those take care of the "otherwise" part more or less automatically.

akerro 8y ago

What's the difference now between online streaming providers and cable? Now to watch what I like, I would have to have AmazonPrime, Netflix, HBO and BBC Player. Netflix is now no different than cables were 15 years ago. Ads were replaced with webtracking and profiling. They are constantly removing 3rd party movies and TV shows, adding their own production which usually is quite bad (less than 6 stars on IMBD) and now increasing prices?

baumandm 8y ago
I agree with you and I'm concerned that the streaming market is going in a less-user-friendly direction. That said, for me Amazon Prime is $10, Netflix HD is $13, and HBO is $15. I can't get get BBC in the US, so let's swap in Hulu for $8/month. Total that's $46 per month for 4 of the largest streaming video services. Whereas the average cable bill is now $107[1]. The other advantage is that you can pick and choose exactly what you want to subscribe to. Don't watch Netflix originals? You can drop it and subscribe to Disney's new service. Or Acorn TV, CBS All Access, DirecTV Now, ESPN+, FilmStruck, etc. [1] https://www.leichtmanresearch.com/78-of-tv-households-subscribe-to-a-pay-tv-service/ https://www.leichtmanresearch.com/78-of-tv-households-subscr...
wilsonnb3 8y ago
> What's the difference now between online streaming providers and cable? Have you ever even used cable? Online streaming is vastly superior. You get to choose what you want to watch instead of watching whatever is on. You can watch it on a much wider variety of devices than just your tv. It’s much cheaper than cable. There are no ads.
- akerro 8y ago
  >Have you ever even used cable? It's just modern version of TV with extra steps. >You get to choose what you want to watch instead of watching whatever is on. Unless something is no available in your country in any of 10 streaming providers. >You can watch it on a much wider variety of devices than just your tv. In 2001 I had a TV card in my computer and was able to watch forward TV stream to panasonic digital camera screen by some wired yellow cable. >It’s much cheaper than cable. Not in every country, my parents pay ~$4/mth for cable TV. Netflix is almost 4x that. >There are no ads. But that's modern version of TV, you have targeted content and user profiling instead of ads

dazc 8y ago

Well, at least for the moment, it's easy enough to cancel and pick up again in a few month's time when there is sufficient new content to justify the price? If it were not for this option I would be exclusive to amazon by now.

iambateman 8y ago

I think we can expect Netflix to go from ~$13/mo to ~$40/mo over the course of the next 30 years. For now they’re content to suck the life out of the networks. But generations of Americans have shown a willingness to pay $99/mo or more for their entertainment, which Netflix is pleased to provide. We are the frogs in their pot, slowly being boiled. But, oh my, is it ever a nice hot tub.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
By that time all of the content I’ll ever watch will be on an SSD, managed and streamed by the successor of Plex.
velcrovan 8y ago
I think we can expect that purely because of normal inflation. $40 per year in 2048 would reflect a 4% annual increase. So if your price prediction is correct, it doesn't really say much about the streaming content market specifically.
- iambateman 8y ago
  I meant to say inflation adjusted. Going from $13 to $40 in 2019 dollars is a substantial shift.
UncleMeat 8y ago
And that'll still be less than half of what a cable bill costs today. Over 30 years we'd expect to see an 80% increase just from inflation. Boiled frogs?

swamp40 8y ago

I'd pay good money for a Rotten Tomatoes score for each Netflix movie. The Netflix Recommendation Engine is nothing more than an attempt to sell you bad movies.

oflannabhra 8y ago

I've been wondering if the last Great Unbundling will be followed by another Great Rebundling. I'm no expert in any of this, but it seems unlikely that the new "channels" of Netflix et al. will prevent their programming and delivery methods from be bundled until it becomes disadvantageous to their growth (ie monthly subscriptions can't generate enough revenue). It seems to me there is an explosion of content that will be able to be monetized far beyond just subscription lock-in. I wonder what the method of monetization will be after the gold-rush of building subscriber bases? Netflix's original proposition and value was one of convenience (and price), but I wonder how long that will last. Will households juggle 4+ subscriptions of $15/mo? I'm not sure that is why cord-cutters originally cancelled their cable subscriptions. My off-the-top-of-my-head list of current and coming soon subscription services (that also produce content) is: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, YouTube, CBS, Disney/Fox, NBC, Apple. Technologically, it seems like there are some serious hurdles to "bundling" these together. I wonder if the future "bundle" will actually be a service that manages subscriptions for you, with things like highlighting newly available shows since the last time you subscribed.

sjg007 8y ago

I find that bundling is actually taking place. With every major cell phone provider you can get a plan that bundles in netflix/prime/hulu/directv now respectively. Also comcast now offers it's own xfinity wireless plan. And since everyone has a cell phone it starts to make sense to bundle.

Simulacra 8y ago

As a family we pay for a group of streaming services, and I don't really mind a pay increase. We're on FiOS now and anything is better than paying comcast to do anything.

gnulinux 8y ago

Isn't this just inflation?

sys_64738 8y ago

It's still less than the cost of a DVD so more power to Netflix's programming!

stunt 8y ago

I might just drop it as I don't use it much.