Reflections

Netflix Apology And A Streaming Only Plan For U.S.

Posted by on Sep 24, 2010 | 6 Comments

The CEO of Netflix made a statement that he now claims was a joke, stating that we ‘Americans are self-absorbed’. I personally didn’t take offense to his remark and actually found some truth to his remark. There was also the issue of Netflix offering Canadians a lower subscription price that now has been cleared up. Apparently the Canadian subscription price of $7.99 is for streaming only with no DVD be mailed to a subscribers home. Now Netflix states that subscribers in the U.S. may be getting a streaming only package as well.

Here is the blog entry from Netflix:

Apologies

My Big American Foot is in my mouth. Yesterday, I made an awkward joke with a reporter in Toronto about Americans (like me) being self-absorbed relative to Netflix pricing in Canada. I was wrong to have made the joke, and I do not believe that one of the most philanthropically-minded nations in the world (America) is self-absorbed or full of self-absorbed people. The pricing Netflix is offering in Canada, $7.99 per month, does not include any DVD-by-mail option, and that is why it is cheaper than our $8.99 USA plan which has both DVD-by-mail and streaming in one plan. We are looking at adding a streaming-only option for the USA over the coming months. My apologies to anyone offended by my self-absorbed comment. Sincerely, -Reed

Interesting possibility if in fact it does happen. Streaming video is going to be the next great wave in entertainment. I personally believe that in the next few years more people will be cutting the cord with their cable companies in favor of streaming content from the Internet.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source – Netflix

  • Ernie

    Cancelled my subscription. I don’t feel that Reed Hastings deserves the opportunity to take my money and dis me. If I wanted that kind of treatment I’d get married.

  • Cliffystones

    I just took a survey yesterday from Roku. In my comments I said that I hoped that they could bring a lot of the content from cable and DTV to their service.

    Cable and Satellite charge what I feel are exorbitant prices, especially when you take into consideration the number of subscribers they have. Then they proceed to nickel and dime you to death, charging you and extra $5 or more a month for DVR, extra boxes, the connection of those extra boxes, etc. If you want multiple TVs in multiple rooms it can get costly quickly. And I’m quite certain that after the set-top boxes’ it doesn’t cost the cable and satellite companies one penny more to provide a signal to 1 TV in a household, or a dozen.

    Along comes Netflix, whose employees have to physically handle product, ship and receive that product, and all for less than $10 a month! Then they add streaming on-demand service and DON’T raise the price one penny!

    You gotta love free market competition.

  • Brian

    Oh, so Ernie was offended? Ha ha ha, if that is the worst that someone has to say about America I think we have it made! Did Ernie happen to catch the comments made about America by the Iranian leader in OUR country the other day? Perspective Ernie, and in this instance I believe that be has just proven how self absorbed some Americans can actually be. What an idiot.

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Hello Brian,
      Good point.

  • Justin

    Um, Americans are very self absorbed, he just didn’t finish his statement, what he meant to say was, Americans who live in the ULTRA upper class are self absorbed.

    • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

      Hi Justin, LOL