# Longtime Netflix customers face price hike



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:



> Longtime Netflix subscribers will soon have to pick their poison - pay a higher monthly rate, get lower-quality streams, or cut off service entirely.
> 
> Two years ago, Netflix raised the rate for its standard monthly plan from $7.99 a month to $8.99 monthly. At the time, the company said the new rate would only apply to new customers and promised existing customers that they could keep their lower-cost plan for the next two years. In a letter to shareholders released Tuesday, company executives noted that two-year period will expire this spring.
> 
> In order to keep their same level of service, which gives them access to high-definition movies and TV shows and allows them to stream two different videos at the same time to different devices, customers will have to pay $9.99, the rate Netflix now charges for its standard plan after a second price hike last fall. They can continue to pay the $7.99 rate, but will only be able to stream video to one screen and won't get access to HD videos.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

I thought the higher rate was for 4k, not all HD. I only need one at a time, but don't want to only have SD video.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Same here. Considering how much I use it though, it is still good deal.


- Merg

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

Once again -PROVING anything you will pay $7.99 for you will pay $12.99 to keep - This apply's to most everything else as well  Get ready for another Hike 2 years out and so on. - Just like D*'s yearly increase and every other service. Choose your Poison.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I disagree west. I think the increases will be yearly and will be more than a dollar a hit soon enough. I figure Netflix will be about 20 a month by 2020.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Even at $20 a month, still cheaper than a single trip to the theater for a movie.
Let's not lose sight of the savings in time, money, aggravation and frustration.


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## APB101 (Sep 1, 2010)

inkahauts said:


> I disagree west. I think the increases will be yearly and will be more than a dollar a hit soon enough. I figure Netflix will be about 20 a month by 2020.


Whether or not that turns out to be accurate, but being willing to suppose that it is, that might actually cause a good number of subscribers to feel that Netflix is no longer &#8230; so &#8230; _special_.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

It would have been naive for customers two years ago not to believe the what they were told: "At the time, the company said the new rate would only apply to new customers and promised existing customers that they could keep their lower-cost plan for the next two years...."

Netflix is not a non-profit. So as they expand their content, particularly original content, I think we all know rates are going to increase to cover the costs. However, as they continue their international customer base expansion, they will gain revenue which might help to keep the rates down.

The big problem for all customers is the tension Netflix will feel from the "what did you make an hour ago" stock market analyst viewpoint during this long term growth effort. Their recent quarterly report showed remarkable subscriber growth and that produced headlines. The honest headline was *Netflix streaming subscribers on rise but costs hit profit* which explained:



> Netflix has reported a surge in streaming subscribers in the December quarter, boosted by its international expansion, even as the company missed its target for customer additions in the US.
> 
> Overall, the company added 5.59 million streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter, topping its projection of 5.15 million, and bringing its total worldwide customer base to nearly 75 million. For the current quarter, Netflix expects to add 6.1 million streaming subscribers.
> 
> Netflix shares, having more than doubled in the past 12 months, were up 7 per cent in after-hours trading yesterday. Despite the increase in subscribers, Netflix's profit fell sharply, hurt by higher costs for content and overseas expansion. Netflix projected additional international losses this year.


Of course there was a big gain in the Netflix share price which has since all been lost because the stock market is what it is.

The TV content market is still a developing model. At one end of the spectrum Netflix is the model for internet streaming. They offer content on-demand through the internet to the customers ISP with the customers using their own web-connected devices to display the content. At the other end of the spectrum is Comcast's Xfinity TV which offers "live" plus on-demand content through its owned cable TV infrastructure and cable-TV-connected devices with the customers using Xfinity remotes and their own TV's. What we're likely to see is those two models coming closer together, and so will the prices.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

phrelin said:


> [...]
> The TV content market is still a developing model. At one end of the spectrum Netflix is the model for internet streaming. They offer content on-demand through the internet to the customers ISP with the customers using their own web-connected devices to display the content. At the other end of the spectrum is Comcast's Xfinity TV which offers "live" plus on-demand content through its owned cable TV infrastructure and cable-TV-connected devices with the customers using Xfinity remotes and their own TV's. What we're likely to see is those two models coming closer together, and so will the prices.


I'm with Comcast and I upgraded to the Xfinity 'X1' system last year.
What an amazing system. It's not your granddaddy's cable anymore.

That aside, there are a lot of similarities between Netflix and Xfinity,
so much so that I occasionally forget which provider I am using. The
differences are subtle but for ease of use, I'll give the edge to Xfinity.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

Netflix online TV shows offer a wide selection of good programs. There are a lot of older movies online but a paucity of new ones. Well worth the $8.99 I currently pay but I would bail out at $20 per month.


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

I used a $100 gift card for my services throughout the year with Netflix, but I find myself using my YouTube Red account far more. A rate hike will force my hand.


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