Netflix Instituting Blu-ray Premium "Soon"
Oh damnit, and here I was thinking that much like the Profile kerfuffle recently, the rumoured Blu-ray premium Netflix was going to charge was just as short lived.
No such luck.
In their Q2 earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the premium for Blu-ray rentals would begin testing "very shortly." If those tests pan out, then they'll apply the changes to the whole subscriber base.
Netflix is citing the higher cost of Blu-ray discs as the reason for the premium, with Silicon Valley Insider estimating that "standard DVDs cost the company around $18, Blu-ray discs cost about $23 -- or about a 28% premium."
No word yet from Netflix how much the premium for renting Blu-ray discs will be.
I'm warning you now, Netflix: if it's more than $1, or at most $2, then I'm jumping ship to Blockbuster.
You've been warned.
Netflix: Testing Blu-ray Price Hikes Soon (NFLX) [Silicon Valley Insider]
Den Den Boy
Posted to Hot Stuff, In Your House on 28 July 2008
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: Blu-ray, HD, movies, Netflix, rental
Wow, this is an absolutely horrible decision. If this gets instituted to any degree, even just a $1 more, I would choose Blockbuster in a heartbeat. Yes BluRay is more expensive to buy, but they get a huge number of uses out of these discs. Even if whatever premium they tack on only covers this cost and doesn't result in extra profit, they'll pay an even bigger cost in a lost subscriber base, which Blockbuster will go after in a heartbeat.
That...really...blows!
Don't rent Blu-Ray disks -- Problem solved. Seriously? Sony won, now you must pay. If you think BlockBuster will forever pass on making money off Blu-Ray you're not thinking clearly.