My name is Jen and I am a Netflixaholic. There I said it. Don’t judge me. So as you can imagine, Netflix’s announcement that they are going to raise their prices by 60% leaves me and millions of other Netflix addicts feeling heartbroken/betrayed/and pissed. Netflix roped me in because of their low pricing on such a great product. So maybe I did take it for granted, so what. Now that I’m hooked they are pulling the old bait and switch.
I guess the only “positive” thing that comes from this whole situation is that I am forced to think about how Technology has completely changed our entertainment experience over the past few years. I won’t even get into how technology has completely changed how movies are made with CGI and special effects…that’s obvious. I’m talking about how we receive the content has completely transformed. Do you remember going to the movie store? If you went after 7:00 on a Friday night, forget it…all of the best movies were gone. Only the empty display cases remain on the shelves with nothing behind them. So you better walk back over to the A’s and search alphabetically for your second choice.
In a short period of time Netflix has completely dominated the market with its technology. Now if we don’t want to pay $12.00 to see a movie in the theater we will “Netflix it”. Our culture has completely transformed into a “now” society where we cannot wait for anything. We are impatient and we need everything at our fingertips. Netflix recognized this opportunity and has taken the lead in the streaming video market. Content when you want it, where ever you are, and no late fees.
It is pretty impressive when you think about what Netflix has accomplished. They have cornered the movie rental market and eliminated almost all of their competition. Now they are the only game in town and they are going to name their price. They want to lure their subscribers away from DVD’s and switch everyone to streaming video. Fortunately they have the muscle to do it.
Although I am outraged at the thought of forking over an extra $6 a month, I know that it is not going to matter. When September rolls around and it is time to resign I’m going to chase this dragon along with millions of other Netflixaholics and pony up the cash. What can I say…I’m hooked.
Here are some interesting links that came across that talk about the price hike. These first two articles explain what Netflix is trying to accomplish and reasoning for the price increase.
Here are two more articles talking about the backlash from Netflix subscribers.
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