Netflix charges an extra $1 for Blu-Ray, DVDs next?
By Matt Jansen
In recent months, Netflix has established a reputation for adding more value without charging more for its service. That was first evident with its debut of downloadable content included with regular subscriptions, and continued when it began shipping Blu-Ray discs to customers. Now Netflix is asking for an extra $1 per month from customers who rent Blu-Ray discs, but is a time coming soon when it will charge extra for anyone who wants to continue receiving DVDs instead of downloading?
Most customers seem to agree that an additional $1 per month (as reported by Reuters) is a reasonable increase to manage and ship Blu-Ray discs, and it’s easy to opt out of the program for customers who prefer to stick with traditional DVDs. For example, at the time of this posting, Spiderman 3 on Amazon costs $13.49 for the wide screen DVD edition and $26.95 for the Blu-Ray version.
The surcharge speaks to a larger transition happening though, especially as Netflix expands the amount of content available by download. CBS and Disney just jumped onboard with lots of content, bringing the number of titles available through online download to over 12,000. Netflix jumped another hurdle with online distribution, by partnering with Roku to create a device that downloads its video directly to the TV, through a wireless Internet connection. The company is continuing to expand in that space with plans to “… stream movies and TV episodes via Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console and LG Electronic’s LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player starting this fall.”
It only makes sense then, that as Netflix continues to port more of its content online, it will continue to prefer that distribution method more. Downloads are cheaper to maintain, instantly trackable, and don’t get damaged from repeat usage or careless customers.
When the number of titles available online reaches critical mass, will Netflix begin to charge customers extra to continue receiving “old-fashioned” DVDs? From a cost perspective it seems to make sense.
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