Netflix price increase

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Water Panda

Yeah, I think I'm priced out at this point. Might resub to binge watch new episodes of The Witcher, but honestly I'm ok with waiting for a home video release on that one. (Good chance it eventually happens like Stranger Things.)

HBO Max is a far more appealing option.

hmmm, interesting - I'm always having problems finding stuff to watch on HBO Max, now Netflix, IMO have way more stuff I'm interested in watching.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

hmmm, interesting - I'm always having problems finding stuff to watch on HBO Max, now Netflix, IMO have way more stuff I'm interested in watching.

Same. I don't think I'll ever catch up with everything I want to see on Netflix to be honest.

[ctujackbauer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCEqa1fgt2w

"Can't afford the streaming anymore, so here we are."

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Netflix used to be great, but took a massive nosedive when they lost/got rid of several older content, started pushing their controversial originals, and didn't add much other than 360p sourced Bollywood stuff. I occasionally used Netflix when they had 60s-90s stuff and the B/Z-grade 70s cults that weren't on other providers at the time.

Final straw after the last price increase in early '20 was the new "bandwidth friendly" compression scheme they implemented. Regardless of device, the PQ at 1080p and 4k took huuugggeee downhill spirals with brief switching to 480p and frozen grain. Completely dropped them two years ago and haven't looked back.

Unless you must have the latest, greatest things even Hulu and D+ don't have much in the way of back catalog offerings, nonetheless in HD when other places have it remastered elsewhere.

HBOMax does have a lot of content, but their interface is spotty and playback on any device (with good internet MB speeds mind you) buffers, chops frame rate, and/or takes dips to 360p. Over time I'm sure it will improve but right now I'm happy with Prime Video/IMDB TV and the ScreenPix channel on ATV.

[vertigop1ayer]

Netflix does have a good selection of non-US content which keeps them relevant to me personally.

As a business though, it'll be interesting to see what their long-term success will be. D+ may be their own global rival, but profitability is not one of Netflix's attributes, to put it one way. Their competition is growing while their subscriber growth is slowing before they reach consistent annual profitability. Not saying they're going anywhere anytime soon, but they do have some weaknesses that can't be absorbed as easily as the Hollywood-owned streaming services can, nor do they have the deep pockets of Apple for example.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I already unsuscribed months ago. Will reactivate for one month every six months. No streaming option is worth what Netflix wants

I’ve been unsubscribed for over a year. The thing is, people still remain subscribed and so, Netflix will keep taking advantage of that. I don’t know why people continue to put up with their price hikes when there are so many other streaming services that are cheaper.

[ctujackbauer]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I already unsuscribed months ago. Will reactivate for one month every six months. No streaming option is worth what Netflix wants

Originally Posted by MrHT

I’ve been unsubscribed for over a year. The thing is, people still remain subscribed and so, Netflix will keep taking advantage of that. I don’t know why people continue to put up with their price hikes when there are so many other streaming services that are cheaper.

So there is a downside to the subscribe and cancel strategy: Netflix can shadow-ban you from the platform and won't allow your payment to go through.

It's rare and doesn't happen to everyone so who knows if this is an algorithm-based banning, but it does occasionally happen.

A good example was posted here: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/vie....php?p=6459637 although you can find examples by googling.

[danny24]

I happily cancelled because I don't want the cheaper HD option and it's $19.99 now for the 4K option. I don't watch it that much and can live without it but that price increase did it. I just don't like the price for their service now. Bye Netflix. I am sure they will be fine without my $20 every month as they have millions of subscribers and I am just like a crumb falling off the slice of bread being served.

I am watching HBO Max and Amazon Prime more anyway and happy with it. Not paying close to $20 a month for any streaming service especially with my movie collection physically/digitally I have plenty of entertainment around. Bottom line I can live without it.

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

Still worth it. Most spend that much on a coffee, or pint.

Yeah but it's something you physically have to enjoy for a short while so it's worth it. Netflix is just an app. If you don't use it you basically handing them free money every month. I can go weeks without watching it so it's not worth it for me and they don't have a cheaper ad based 4K option so I said see ya. It really depends how much you watch their service every month to justify keeping it.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by ctujackbauer

So there is a downside to the subscribe and cancel strategy: Netflix can shadow-ban you from the platform and won't allow your payment to go through.

It's rare and doesn't happen to everyone so who knows if this is an algorithm-based banning, but it does occasionally happen.

A good example was posted here: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/vie....php?p=6459637 although you can find examples by googling.

Please Netflix, ban me forever.

I only recently signed up because my kids want it. I am burning though what I am interested in but I really don't like Netflix.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

Still worth it. Most spend that much on a coffee, or pint.

I don't drink alcohol and won't live without coffee so you have to add the cost of coffee to anything else that gets considered.

[lgans316]

There are some interesting content in Netflix for sure and loads of 4K Dolby Vision / Atmos contents. If you still want Netflix 4K then try to share your sub with your friends / family to be easy on your wallet. There is no way I am paying full price. If I was in such a situation, I will simply cancel my sub.

[bhampton]

Absolutely,

My neighbor said it hurt her feelings when I stopped using her Netflix and got my own account but I still use her Hulu with Live TV and I think she should dump Netflix and get on my account to balance things out.

If you don't have 5 people using a streaming account, .... you're doing it wrong. What are the profiles for otherwise?

It's pretty easy when you are head of a 5 person household.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I don't drink alcohol and won't live without coffee so you have to add the cost of coffee to anything else that gets considered.

A pint, coffee, a meal, etc. My point was that folks typically spend much more than that without thinking twice, but bellyache when it comes to $20 for a Netflix 4K plan PER MONTH. Just do the math, how much would a movie cost in cinemas? Roughly $20 per person if you're going out of pocket. That's not even counting a TV show/series, so Netflix is still a bargain by a very large margin. I do wish that they gave people the option to prepay for the year. Maybe they'll do it at some point.

[bhampton]

It just keeps going up though and it doesn't get better ... just more expensive.

Everyone has that level at which suddenly they realize it's just not worth it.

[BluBonnet]

Any day now, I expect the Netflix empire to crumble... like... like a House of Cards.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

A pint, coffee, a meal, etc. My point was that folks typically spend much more than that without thinking twice, but bellyache when it comes to $20 for a Netflix 4K plan PER MONTH. Just do the math, how much would a movie cost in cinemas? Roughly $20 per person if you're going out of pocket. That's not even counting a TV show/series, so Netflix is still a bargain by a very large margin. I do wish that they gave people the option to prepay for the year. Maybe they'll do it at some point.

Depends if Netflix still has anything worthwhile watching for that person as they're losing licensed content.

Disney+ Bundle nowadays seems like a hella awesome deal compared to Netflix, Netflix just isn't as good as it once was, but folks who still enjoy, more power to them.

Hey, who knows if Disney buys Netflix and adds them to the bundle. lol

[zman73]

Ive only subbed to NF one time a year the last two years for Cobra Kai... a month is enough to get through a lot of the content. I may pick it up again later this year, but looking forward to getting the showtime/paramount bundle, then Prime one The Boys comes back... I just rotate. With so many movies (and still getting satellite tv) more than one paid sub at a time is not worth it and a waste. I do get HBO max free with my internet package thankfully

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by danny24

I happily cancelled because I don't want the cheaper HD option and it's $19.99 now for the 4K option. I don't watch it that much and can live without it but that price increase did it. I just don't like the price for their service now. Bye Netflix. I am sure they will be fine without my $20 every month as they have millions of subscribers and I am just like a crumb falling off the slice of bread being served.

I am watching HBO Max and Amazon Prime more anyway and happy with it. Not paying close to $20 a month for any streaming service especially with my movie collection physically/digitally I have plenty of entertainment around. Bottom line I can live without it.

The interesting thing is that for $19.99 you can get the Hulu (no Ads)/Disney Plus/ESPN Plus bundle. So you can watch a variety of TV shows & Movies on Hulu, watch a bunch Disney content on Disney Plus and a wide range of sports on ESPN +. It's the best bang for the buck. And if you don't mind ads, you can knock that monthly price down to only $13.99.

This is why I don't get why Netflix feels it's ok to raise rates and why people stick with them. You can get better bang for the buck with other streaming services. There's more competition out there, so Netflix should be decreasing their rates to compete, not increasing.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

Depends if Netflix still has anything worthwhile watching for that person as they're losing licensed content.

Disney+ Bundle nowadays seems like a hella awesome deal compared to Netflix, Netflix just isn't as good as it once was, but folks who still enjoy, more power to them.

Hey, who knows if Disney buys Netflix and adds them to the bundle. lol

They have plenty. Even if you were to watch 1 movie/series per month, you've more than made your money back. How much would that theoretically cost you in time/money at the theater? Nevermind you can't watch tv series in theaters. It's still a bargain. Now if folks are cheap/frugal then that's a different story -- seems like it's almost a knee-jerk reaction, because it's "fun" to hate on Netflix.

[ticTACsnitch]

Originally Posted by MrHT

This is why I don't get why Netflix feels it's ok to raise rates and why people stick with them.

Convenience, familiarity, availability, overall access, take your pick. Simply put, nobody else comes close to their customer base.

https://www.cleveland.com/data/2022/...bscribers.html