After Blockbuster Video went under and decided not to uphold their payroll obligations, I switched to Netflix. It was cheaper and streaming was a part of the cheapest plan. I didn’t mind too much when they raised their rates by $1 as that was no big deal and was understood. But the latest price hike is absolutely ridiculous!
I still won’t switch to Blockbuster Video Online until they make good and pay all the employees that they screwed over when the sale to Dish Network was official, but I do understand why people will. Netflix charges extra for a subscriber to get Bluray while with Blockbuster it is included. Blockbuster gets movies before Netflix in many instances, while Netflix customers have to wait until it is available to them. They both stream, but with Netflix’s recent price increase, Blockbuster becomes the cheaper option. In fact, Blockbuster has a campaign to those upset with Netflix to get them to switch and it is definitely working.
Now I loved being able to stream but the more important option for me was to receive DVDs by mail so I am going without streaming. I do find the “explanation” of the price increase still ridiculous because Blockbuster Video didn’t have a big price hike like that. I do wonder now if Blockbuster will soon follow suit and raise their rates since the price has now skyrocketed with Netflix. Only time will tell.