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Netflix already stopped mailing DVDs on Saturdays, but you probably didn't notice
The USPS may not have gone forward with its plans to kill Saturday mail delivery, but Netflix isn't waiting. A few customers have noticed it's no longer processing shipments on Saturdays, opting for a five day schedule instead. Company spokesman Joris Evers tells Engadget that it's been transitioning in that direction over the past year and ended Saturday processing (usually a low volume day) entirely in early June. Longtime subscribers may remember that originally Netflix was a five day operation, and it only shipped or received DVDs and Blu-ray discs on the weekend over the past five years. These days, most of us are streaming so with all those options there's less pressure to get an item in the mail, but of course not everyone is happy. When weekend mail delivery came close to ending last year (various government committees have opted to keep it going), an AP article noted that it could actually save Netflix money by reducing the number of deliveries for heavy users -- because of its flat rate, they're actually less profitable. Now that competitors like Blockbuster are out of the way, there aren't many other options which is probably also a factor. Of course, we can't blame Saturday deliveries (or the lack thereof) for this Hot Rod DVD that's been sitting on the coffee table for as long as we can remember. [Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Netflix Q4 results: 220k new streaming-only customers, beats earnings estimates (Update: no game rentals coming)
Netflix's Q4 2011 earnings report is in, and the company indicates its streaming subscriber count is now 21.67 million. DVD subscribers were still down however, although not as much as expected with cancellations peaking in September when the services split, leaving it with a total number of 24.4 million customers. This closes out a tough 2011 that saw its subscriber count drop by 800k in Q3, and most recently resulted in the search for a new Chief Marketing Officer. The company exceeded its own targets for growth in streaming customers and domestically, the segment reported a higher-than-expected profit of $52 million.When it comes to its competition however, Netflix cosigned a rumor indicated today by the New York Post that Amazon may spin off its Prime Instant video service into a cheaper-than-Netflix standalone offering. For now however, it believes Amazon and Hulu offer only a fraction of its content, and net subscriber viewing hours that are less than 10 percent of the 2 billion --around 30 per member -- it reported during Q4.Regarding the new 56-day delay for DVDs and Blu-ray discs from Warner Bros., it "didn't like" the new terms, but decided it was more efficient to keep a direct relationship for discs than to try buying discs from retail again, and expects more "differentiated dates" from studios going forward. With its Starz deal coming to an end soon, Netflix plans to plug the content hole by licensing some of the movies from Encore directly from the studios, and the kid-friendly Disney fare with flicks like The Adventures of Tin Tin and Rango from Paramount (via Epix) until its new Dreamworks deal takes effect in 2013. Interestingly, it also comments that "content is a differentiator", and that it's "increasingly" licensing content exclusively to fight its true competition, TV Everywhere services like HBO Go. We'll be back with any interesting remarks from the earnings call (scheduled for 6PM ET), until then check out the press release itself linked below.Update: The earnings call (just finished) was predictably boring, but CEO Reed Hastings confirmed the company has "no plans" to offer videogames for rental, which had been announced as part of the later-retracted Qwikster spinoff. As far as offering current season episodes of TV shows for cord-cutters, it won't be bidding on those either. When it comes to 3D, Blu-ray 3D discs are already in the mix, while the company is "looking into" streaming 3D.
Tech's biggest misfires of 2011
The past 12 months have been a boon of technological innovation, particularly in the world of mobile devices, where top companies have been waging an arms race for the top of the smartphone and tablet hills. Not everything has been smooth sailing, however -- 2011 has also been dotted by delays, false starts, security breeches and straight up technological turf outs. Check out some of the lowlights from the year that was after the break.
Netflix to expand to UK, Ireland in 'early 2012,' looks to challenge Lovefilm
Well it looks like Netflix's rumored UK launch was a lot more than just a rumor. Today, the company announced that it will indeed expand to the UK and Ireland "in early 2012," promising to offer unlimited streaming on PCs, tablets and mobile devices at a "low monthly subscription price." The company didn't say what that price would be, nor did it offer any details on available content or supported devices, though more details will be announced closer to its launch. We're also expecting to hear more from Netflix during its Q3 earnings conference call later today, when we should find out about the impact of its recent price hike and Qwikster turnaround. Whether or not its foray into the UK can loosen Lovefilm's grip on the domestic market, however, remains to be seen. Full PR after the break.
Netflix cans Qwikster, service staying whole
Talk about your qwik turnaround. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced this morning that Netflix won't split into two separate services as planned. The news comes less than a month after the company's stock went into freefall following its announced split into disc-based and streaming entities named Qwikster and Netflix, respectively. "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 DVD," Hasting wrote on the company's official blog this morning. "This means no change: one website, one account, one password... in other words, no Qwikster." There is no update on Netflix's desire to enter the video game rental space in Hastings' post. We are currently following up with the company to find out if those plans have changed too. Update: A Netflix spokesperson tells the New York Times that the company has yet to determine whether it will move forward with the video game rental plan.
Netflix backtracks on Qwikster, will keep DVDs and streaming under the same URL
The Netflix Contrition Tour 2011 continues today, as the company announced today that it won't be spinning off DVD-by-mail rentals into a new company called Qwikster. While the plan for DVD operations to be separated internally appears to still be under way (no word yet on the promised videogame rental option), for customers things will stay the same, with one login and one website. While the retreat will probably prompt even more speculation about the company's true plans, CEO Reed Hastings has issued yet another apology to customers, admitting Netflix may have moved too fast this time. Another sticky issue that's not so easily dealt with is the recent pricing change that took effect last month. While many speculated at the time about what percentage of customers would see higher prices as a result, spokesperson Steve Swasey reveals it affected about half of the company's subscribers. For the rest who had signed up for the $7.99-streaming only package (an option selected by the overwhelming majority in the quarter before the change) prices didn't go up at all. We have our own ideas about what the pricing should be, but it seems Netflix has finally realized not all customers got the message that it's a streaming company now, and tacking DVDs onto its new primary offering for only $2 extra just didn't work. Since all that uproar Netflix has announced a few new / expanded content deals for its streaming service, with Discovery and exclusive rights to previous seasons of The Walking Dead from AMC. But with renewed competition from the likes of Blockbuster and Amazon only time will tell if it can do enough to stop the subscriber bleeding. The Netflix Q3 earnings report is due October 24th -- think that will be an interesting call to listen in on?
GameFly expresses confidence as Netflix muscles in
GameFly is putting on a strong face as it prepares for its greatest competitor to the game rental space to date: Netflix. Well, the behemoth's disc distribution division is called Qwikster now -- a change that's taking folks some time to wrap their brains around -- but the fact remains: Netflix's distribution network is an efficient beast. It is a key aspect GameFly has struggled with over the years. "GameFly has expanded steadily over the past nine years by focusing exclusively on video gamers. We are the only retailer offering games physically and digitally for both rental and purchase," GameFly responded in a statement when asked about Qwikster. "Gamers can try before they buy, choosing from new releases and classic titles that span the last decade. GameFly has more than 8000 games for 10 console and handheld systems to choose from, and over 1500 Windows/Mac games are available for download." GameFly is preparing for the digitally distributed future with acquisitions like Direct2Drive, which will allow the company to add "Unlimited PC Play" for free to its service offerings this holiday. "GameFly is the leading video game rental service, and we have continued to grow even as Blockbuster and Redbox increased their investment in console games." Qwikster has yet to show how serious it is about the game space, nor has it given an idea about the price for its games 'n' flix service -- wait, that's probably not the best term to use.
Editorial: Reed Hastings' Netflix spinoff isn't about DVD success, it's about hedging the stream
If you've just casually glanced over the mass reactions to Reed Hastings' decision to split the DVD-by-mail business of Netflix into its own brand and company, you've probably been duped into thinking that it's the second questionable move that the world's most famed movie delivery service has made this year. But is it? Is a man who turned a red envelope into a symbol of near-immediate gratification really a moron? Did he really just bury the company he worked tirelessly to create? I highly, highly doubt it. Knee-jerk reactions are always fun to watch, but they're rarely on-point. As with most things in life, the truth usually resides somewhere in betwixt the extremes. And in the case of Qwikster -- the DVD-by-mail service that precisely no one asked for -- the truth is hiding in exactly the place that Reed said it'd be: the future.
Netflix's DVD division renamed 'Qwikster,' adds games-by-mail
Netflix made waves a few weeks ago when it split its streaming and DVD-by-mail services into two separate plans with separate prices, but these measures were apparently more preparatory than reactionary, it seems. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has announced that the movie megalith's DVD-by-mail devision will be separated from its streaming services and spun off into its own company: Qwikster. Qwikster, which will officially launch "in a few weeks," will be a completely independent entity from Netflix; the two services will not integrate in any way, meaning two different websites, two different accounts, and two different bills. What's truly out of left field, however, is the fact that Qwikster will also offer PS3, 360 and Wii titles by way of a "video game upgrade option" similar to Netflix's existing Blu-Ray upgrade system. Despite the fact that Qwikster will be its own corporate entity with its own CEO, Hastings stresses that the transition is "merely a renamed version of the Netflix DVD website, but with the addition of video games." It will be interesting to see how the service fares without Netflix's all-powerful brand recognition, and what impact (if any) the change will have on other game-by-mail services like GameFly. For now, we just hope this news somehow translates into more SGT. Frog episodes getting added to Instant Play.
Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it's 'done' with price changes (video)
Over on Netflix's official blog, company head Reed Hastings has announced in a surprisingly humble blog post and video (embedded after the break) that it's splitting the DVD-by-mail business away into a new venture dubbed Qwikster. While the recent price changes already split the cost for each service, when this takes effect in a few weeks it will result in two different websites, two different sets of movie ratings and queues, and two different charges on customer's bills. He admits two separate sites may make it more difficult to manage a presence on both, but says dropping the need for compatibility between the two will enable new features to balance that out. Another change? Netflix Qwikster (is there anything good about that name?) is getting into video game rentals, available for an extra charge similar to the existing Blu-ray disc option. While the blog post blames a lack of communication for much of the backlash (and obviously cancellations), it's about to become very clear that Netflix is "primarily a streaming company." Also mentioned is "substantial" additional streaming content coming in the next few months. Whatever the company calls itself, charges, or changes on its website, if Netflix wants to talk its way back into subscriber's good graces, starting with something new to watch is the way to do it.
