Barely two weeks into the Netflix price hike, Netflix is reeling from the loss of as many as 600,000 subscribers in what can only be described as one of the greatest customer abandonments of a company ever. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings emailed a Netflix apology to subscribers, along with posting an in-depth explaination for the Netflix price hike and a video on the company blog, as well as an introduction to the new Netflix Quickster. Is it too little too late?
The introduction of “Quickster,” the new name for the Netflix DVD mail distribution service that will now begin to carry video games for both the Playstation and Xbox 360 is a move that almost certainly will mean absolutely nothing to subscribers who have left the company in droves this month. The name change is the basis for separating the two services offered by Netflix, though both services will still be offered on the same website, and you can still use your account the same way, as long as you’ve opted to pay the new, higher rate for DVD delivery combined with the Netflix DVD streaming option.
One of the biggest problems that Netflix is encountering, though, is the defection of Starz from the Netflix title lineup. For many, the Starz titles offered on the streaming account were the movies and TV shows that made the streaming service worthwhile. Many consumers have been complaining for several months that there are few, if any, really good movies available on the streaming service that aren’t Starz movies and TV shows.
Although Hastings makes it somewhat clear what the Netflix price hike was all about in the apology, it’s unclear at this time whether consumers will care. Many consumers will simply drop the DVD-by-mail service altogether and stick with the convenient, though rapidly eroding streaming service, which costs slightly less than the full service Netflix did just a month ago. Many of these same customers have said that a gradual price increase would have been acceptable, but that being slapped with the huge price increase was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Regardless of whether you think anything about Reed Hasting’s Netflix apology or the new Quickster, it seems clear that Netflix just might have its hands full if another company comes along that offers better streaming content, with or without DVD movie delivery.