Netflix: The Consequences of their Shocking Decision
By Geno McGahee
Netflix has announced that there will be some changes brewing in the next two years, but they were certainly foreseeable. For the longest time, the company has made a living carrying nearly every title ever distributed and allowing the viewer to never leave their home, mailing out the DVDs and getting new ones in return with a quick turnaround. Times are changing.
With the high speed internet and Blu Ray Players and Nintento Wiis capable of bringing streamed movies via Netflix through your TV, the decision to move away from DVDs was inevitable, but it’s not something that may be warmly welcomed by its subscribers.
I have been hearing consistent rumors that the company will be accepting less and less titles, and an obscure horror fan like me is hurt by a decision like this, and should they go to strictly streaming, then you would figure that the films rented less frequently would eventually be removed completely. Netflix buys the rights to stream for a year and when that year is up, you would imagine that the unpopular film would go bye-bye as well.
Isn’t it cheaper to keep’er? The DVDs are a one time buy for Netflix and then, when the demand dies down, they are in a position to sell them and make some of the initial investment back.
The idea of having the entire library via stream is incredibly attractive. I find myself watching more and more of their streaming selection, but the concern has to be that once the titles run their course that they will not renew the streaming license and the library will no longer be the best source for the obscure.
It will be interesting to see if the subscribers will stand for the change. Not everyone has streaming capabilities and not everyone wants to stray from DVDs. Look at how long people held on to VHS! Streaming is convenient but there is something nice about getting a DVD in the mail or buying one. For instance, if you were to buy FAMILY SECRET, available for pre-order on Amazon.com, you’d get the case and a boatload of extras on the disc. If you stream it, you watch it and it’s gone without any extras. People may not stand for it.
Netflix is still the best rental place in the movie world and hopefully they will not make the mistake of abandoning DVDs, allowing room for another company to jump in and steal away customers, which is probably in the cards.