I just got this e-mail from Netflix:
Dear Edward,
It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.
This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.
While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.
We’re constantly improving our streaming selection. We’ve recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.
We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.
Respectfully,
The Netflix Team
Sounds like a New Coke-sized strategy reversal. I dropped my DVD rental option when Netflix raised prices earlier this year, so I don’t really care.
If you are a shareholder, though, should you be heartened by this about-face or alarmed? At Hewlett Packard for instance, when the board of directors fired Leo Apotheker, markets were not excited by seeing Meg Whitman in his seat even though the board was acknowledging mistakes and taking corrective action.
I like Netflix as a service a lot. But I don’t own the stock.
P.S. – Here’s Bill Cosby touting New Coke in 1985. I love those sweaters!