Internet Ire Erupts Over Netflix Price Hike
LOS GATOS (CBS SF) - Angry Netflix customers have inundated social media sites with threats to cancel their subscriptions since the Los Gatos company announced it would raise its prices.
Some existing subscribers could wind up paying 60 percent more on Sept. 1 to stream movies and TV shows or rent DVDs by mail. The new rates take effect immediately for new customers.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
For the disgruntled that have taken to YouTube and other sites with their complaints, there are a growing number of options for watching movies and TV shows online, on DVDs or through cable TV's on-demand services.
Of the online options, Netflix has the most content available for streaming over the Internet, though cable TV providers have pay-per-view options with a better selection of recent movies. Apple and Amazon, meanwhile, let you rent a la carte if you don't want to commit to a monthly plan but want the latest movies.
Netflix split the options for streaming and DVDs by mail. It is charging $16 combined for streaming and one DVD at a time, a 60 percent increase from $10 under the old package. Smaller fee increases are coming for Netflix more expensive plans, which offer more DVDs.
A plan that offers only online streaming remains unchanged at $8 per month. The selections are more limited than the DVD plans.
Even with a fee hike, the company's 23 million subscribers will be spending less each month than what it costs two adults to watch a single movie in a theater.
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