I messed up. I owe you an explanation.
It’s not because I myself potentially jeopardized and certainly embarrassed a media entity that single-handedly revolutionized the way people in the 21st Century watch movies and TV.
It’s because I didn’t write about this mess sooner.
The opening statement comes verbatim from an email that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sent to all subscribers apologizing for first raising Netflix’s prices, sweeping this news under the radar until it hit everyone by surprise, and then spin it in press releases that this was actually a good thing.
That was a mistake Netflix made, and now they’re back in the news again two months later with Phase 2 of their “frustrate everyone who has already sold their souls to us” campaign.
They’ve announced that the two components of Netflix that has made the company what it is is now splitting into two separate entities. The site that manages the streaming will still be called Netflix, and the completely different site that handles only DVD streaming will be called Qwikster.
The Background
The first phase was to separate the streaming and DVD delivery components of Netflix into two equal but separate pricing plans. My bill now comes to $17.10 with tax included because DVDs and streaming are each $7.99. No package deduction for both together, just the flat rate of having the two separately.
I should’ve complained more than I did when this news hit. My bill rose by a staggering 60 percent, as did bills for millions of other customers. But what could I do? Netflix has made me very loyal over the last four years of being the only site that streams with instant ease and ad free on my computer, that has nearly every movie I could possibly think of (believe me, if anyone was going to find movies that Netflix didn’t have, it would be me, and mission accomplished), and that works on any device, by which I mean my PS3.
At that time, someone Tweeted, “How dare Netflix charge $16 a month for EVERY MOVIE IN EXISTENCE.” I had to agree with that. Netflix, along with TCM, has been a Godsend in allowing me to become an expert in film. The wide catalog and the ease with which I can watch movies on DVD or on my computer turned me into a film lover, and that is a valuable service I think many critics of the site underestimate. Yes, some of the streaming screws up the aspect ratio, so what you’re watching is not the “proper version,” but it is good enough that I can’t tell the average film goer to continue hunting these movies down in art house theaters or the library. $16 was a reasonable sacrifice.
But for how much I had used the streaming services, I continued to keep the DVD delivery because, why not? It filled in Netflix’s gap in the catalog. I would assume many of the users who use Netflix almost exclusively for streaming still keep the DVD because the site has always been integrated to allow for both. It provides the assurance that you can watch ANY movie you want, ALMOST all of them instantly.
The Problem
Many have argued that two sites, two accounts, two passwords to remember, two queues, two apps and widgets, is too much of a hassle. It is very likely that new customers may simply try Qwikster without dealing with Netflix at all, but it is more likely that returning customers may finally work up the will to abandon their DVDs altogether now that the seamless integration is gone.
Here’s how I use Netflix. There is not a single movie on my DVD queue that is currently available for streaming. I can’t afford the Blu-Ray upgrade, so why would I get a movie in the mail that I could be watching now? And Netflix is good about letting me know which movies on my queue will become available for streaming, meaning that as soon as they do, they come off my DVD queue and are automatically added to my Instant. Conversely, Netflix expires Instant movies all the time, but as soon as they are expired, I can quickly re-add that film to my DVD queue if I so desire.
Unless the two sites are integrated or synced in that way, that convenience is gone, and I will now have to do twice the searching, adding and reorganizing to keep things straight.
The Consequences
What Netflix is doing to ensure that people do not abandon Qwikster from the get-go is they are automatically creating a new account for existing DVD users along with a new credit card charge so that users do not have to start from scratch. Presumably this means that DVD queues will be transferred in their existing order as well, which is a dealbreaker for me if not, because I have 474 movies on my DVD queue as I write (500 is the max, I’ve found the hard way).
Another feature that intrigues me and possibly few others is Qwikster branching out into video game rentals. As a casual gamer with an avid interest in potentially playing a lot of games, I’ve put off subscribing to GameFly because I did not want to pay an additional rate a month to potentially only play one game a month, if that. If Qwikster has the ease of changing plans as simply as Netflix currently does, then I can upgrade my Qwikster account to include video games the way I would Blu-Ray movies. Granted, there’s no telling what the video game catalog will be like.
My fear is that if people abandon just one component of Netflix, then the whole empire will be taken down. Arguably, Netflix has wanted to phase out DVDs forever and force Hollywood’s necessity to release DVDs obsolete. But if Qwikster fails, Hollywood will not budge. People will flock to Hulu, Amazon, Blockbuster and countless other sites for their streaming needs.
The Hilarious Backlash
The reason that this is all so worthy of discussion however is because of the mess Netflix has made with Qwikster. The name, Qwikster, in itself, is silly. I’ve heard it compared to outdated and failed Internet ventures like Napster and Friendster, I’ve heard it was intended as something for hipsters who want their old fashioned DVDs over streaming, and I’ve heard it as a dirty nickname for college bros.
And worst of all, Netflix forgot to check to see if anyone owned the Twitter handle Qwikster before they announced the name. Turns out, someone does own the name @Qwikster. This guy:
He’s a “foul-mouthed pothead” as Fox News labeled him in a Tweet, and Twitter is having a field day.
I’ve even read a number of other hilarious tweets, the best and the most with common sense was this one:
This stuff just keeps coming. Hopefully Netflix gets their act together and Qwikster is at least a mild success. I can’t say for certain what my plan is for DVDs or streaming, but this is a big deal to say the least.
Images courtesy of joniwagner.wordpress.com, wired.com and twitter.com