Netflix Increases Prices, AGAIN!

On Tuesday Netflix announced that it would be raising their prices again. As a customer of Netflix for a long time, this is extremely frustrating. At the beginning of this year, Netflix imposed a price increase that raised my plan a few dollars. At the time, I was okay with this, but the significant price hike I will now have is making me question my membership and opinion of the brand. And it seems that I am not alone in my frustration. The blog post Netflix made announcing the price increase has received over 5,000 comments, significantly over the 500 comment average seen on all their other posts. Their Facebook page has also been flooded with messages of frustration and anger, with over 38,000 messages already regarding this issue. Many consumers took to their social media accounts to blast Netflix for their tactics and announce their cancellation of service. Several of my coworkers immediately cancelled part, or all, of their service after the announcement, not wanting to wait until September when the price hike goes into effect for current customers. I’m still debating whether I will downgrade my plan or cancel altogether.

Obviously Netflix did not plan that their DVD by mail program would continue to be so successful with the launch of their streaming services, or that they would have such difficulty negotiating rates with studios for the rights to their entertainment content. But, I think that this service has continues to be successful due to the fact that Netflix Instant does not include any new releases, so subscribers turn to the mail service to access these films and TV series. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Netflix brand image and sales with so many customers becoming very vocal about the brand. The price increase will also draw more attention to current competitors, like Blockbuster, Hulu, and RedBox, all of which will certainly adapt their marketing to capture these lost Netflix consumers.

Do you feel like this price increase is justified, or will you downgrade or cancel your Netflix services? How do you feel this will affect the Netflix brand image?