why Qwikster may change my mind
Long ago, in the age of walking into a building in search of Digital Versatile Discs for use in proprietary media readers, I was a member of Blockbuster. I like movies; Blockbuster had them so I liked that awhile.
Then their online service started, and I’m incredibly lazy so I liked that awhile. Then Netflix, a competing company with far better branding, got streaming. I’m very impatient, so I liked that awhile.
Fast forward an epoch or two, and you have the present day and the Netflix price increase.
They’ve split their DVD and streaming areas into two, billed at the same prices but twice. I was behind this. I know it takes massive infrastructure and coordination to send me hundreds of titles.
Their DVD library is robust. Their streaming library is adequate (better than others). I like the obscure DVDs and my wife likes streaming older television shows whilst she works.
I was sticking with them. In fact, I barely considered other options because the price still seems worthwhile.
Then, at 5.19a this morning, I received an email (paraphrased from the blog post here). Suddenly: second thoughts.
First, Qwikster? Really? They didn’t even try to find a name that didn’t suck? How about, Netflix Mail and Netlfix Streaming? (Using mail.netflix.com and streaming.netflix.com, respectively. Those, literally, have to be available.)
Second, they’re billing me from two different companies? Are they taking cues from HP? They already separate the queues in a frustrating fashion and their great idea is to make that worse?
They’ve become the industry leader because they simplified the process. Now they’re making it more complicated and that sounds stupid. I’m not in the habit of supporting stupidity (outside of voting, of course).
It looks like a quick spin-off of the DVD side to let it die, quietly, and behind a curtain (ha, get it?). They’ll become a monthly-subscription iTunes, streamline their infrastructure, and drop their costs. It’s a smart business move.
But their digital library is terrible. The industry isn’t as keen on them (they’re not the spunky upstart any longer). Streaming could get more expensive with new agreements.
Now that they’re separate, do I pay into a company with a massive library that’s obviously trying to fail? Or do I pay into a company with limited choices available nearly everywhere?
Full disclosure: I didn’t watch the video. Comment if it’s not the usual direct-from-CEO-slog.
Photo via Geek.com. Further reading at Engadget and The Oatmeal, thanks to DC for the links.