55 Percent Ditching Netflix Over Price Hikes, Poll Finds
Netflix this week announced that it will separate its DVD and streaming services and change its pricing plans, prompting a flood of mostly negative responses.
Effective September 1, Netflix's streaming-only service will cost $7.99 per month while DVD rentals will cost $7.99 for one disc at a time and $11.99 for two at a time. Renting one DVD at a time plus streaming, therefore, will jump to $15.98 a month from the current price of $9.99.
PCMag asked our readers what they plan to do, and as of press time, 4,604 people have responded, with a vast majority (55 percent or 2,530 people) saying they're quitting Netflix.
The second most-popular choice is streaming-only; 27 percent (1,230 people) said they'll choose this option. Few readers are opting for the DVD rental route; just 6 percent (292 people) said they'll sign up for the one disc choice and just 4 percent (164 people) said they'll pick two discs. Eight percent of readers (388 people) said they will spring for the combination DVD rental/streaming plan.
Readers posted 52 comments on the poll, airing their grievances, expressing their thoughts on the price change, and divulging their plans for the future.
"I'm done with Netflix, that increase in price is unjustifiable without an improvement in the streaming library," user Mason wrote. "I'm switching to Hulu Plus. You're not the only game in town, Netflix."
User TheMokoda doesn't think the complainers will act: "[Netflix} expected the backlash. I have no doubt that they considered all the angles on this and it's hard for them to lose. They have 23 million subscribers. So far, the number of complainers has been estimated at about 30,000. So even if ten times that many actually cancelled, it still wouldn't hurt Netflix," he wrote.
User JA plans to choose an alternative: "Blockbuster offers something similar. Plus there [are] kiosks all over the place now. I'm not sure Netflix is worth it to me at this point. Even with 12meg download on my broadband, it still stops the stream often."
Others chimed in to defend Netflix.
"I agree that this announcement is a kick to the groin coming as quick as it did, but come on, Netflix has been delivering a good product for cheap for quite a while now," user kristofer kazakoff said. "I pay 30 buck a month for crappy cable that I never watch because it's bundled in with my Internet plan and I sure don't get to pick what I want to watch! 20 dollars a month to pick and choose? Still a great deal!"
So what will happen? The blog post announcing the price change has already ramped up more than 16,000 comments on the post and via Facebook. So will Netflix budge on pricing? Will there be a mass exodus from the service? Or will there be no significant effect at all? That all remains to be seen after the new model kicks in on September 1.
What's your plan? PCMag wants to hear from you. Give us your feedback in the comments section.
