Netflix Introduces Their "New" DVD By Mail Service: Qwikster

In the latest self-inflicted drama at the company, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings dropped this letter into the inboxes of all his customers overnight. After separating the DVD and streaming services on your bill, Hastings explains that now the DVD service is getting its own name: Qwikster. Presumably, this will make you less annoyed that you are paying more money for the same services, since they are now technically different businesses, at least in name.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.
So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

So now you'll have to use two different websites if you choose to keep streaming and the DVD service, and get bills from two different places.

Meanwhile, everyone's having fun blasting Hastings for not checking to see if the Qwikster Twitter account was taken yet. It is, and as Buzzfeed points out, it's run by "a weed-smoking Elmo." Hastings just hopes "@Qwikster asks for a reasonable amount of weed in exchange for his Twitter handle."

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By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on September 19, 2011 10:45 AM

Comments [rss]

J_12

I don't mind the price increase, as I think they were underpriced for a long time relative to competing services like cable, etc.
However, the things I would be willing to pay a premium for are 1) an expanding catalog of streaming content and 2) ease of use - everything in one place with easy interface including streaming movies, tv shows, and dvd mail service.

It seems they are moving in the opposite direction on both of these points, which makes me more inclined to see if I can replace them with a combination of other services just based on price.

Trustafarian

yeah - i agree. i understood why they had to raise prices, since they were renegotiating their royalty contracts.

they should have waited to up prices and do this split until they had rolled out their new catalogue of streaming movies, as they have added very little worth watching in the past few months and it's sorta infuriating.

spacefoam

I watch "Dunston Checks In" every day just to legitimize my subscription.

spacefoam

"The additional streaming content we have coming in the next few months is substantial..."Who knows what that actually means, but it's in the article.

randomtransplant

"There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!)."
Lies on top of lies. How would you know if an independent legal entity is going to retain the same price model? Alternatively, why would one company disassociate itself from itself, inviting cannibalism, if they were confident in being able to retain the same level of service?

There are still major film festival winners & foreign flicks you can't get through Netflix...and they've lost the STARZ play contract, too. Looks like piracy is going to skyrocket for a year or two until somebody else steps up.

No, I will not be plugging in a cable-tv-provider-provided 'password' to access online content, either. I think thats what they want, like with Adult Swim, but you can't go back in time during a recession. There is just no way.

Investigate-NWO-globalists

I'm not expert in this, but isn't streaming far more efficient & "green-friendly" than mailing tons of plastic disks all over the country???

Spirit of 76

Why do you want to put the Postal Service out of business? What did they ever do to you?

ktinnyc

Three words; Willams Sonoma Catalogue.

Mordicai

It is like you can smell the burning money from here. Hey, Hulu et al-- make some competitive free applications for ALL various gaming consoles, like Wii, Xbox, & whatever. That is a good place to start breaking into the market, if you haven't got them already.

marco_esquandolas

Isn't internet streaming inherently "qwiker"? This has really gone from bad to worse for Netflix.

splicernyc

The email this morning smelled of damage control in every possible way. I still don't understand what the total service will cost me if I keep both.

estragon_nyc

Every possible way except actually controlling any of the damage. The message only managed to further insult their customer base without doing anything to improve the prior situation.

Aladin Sane

Dumb all around.

jerseygirl7

really awful name and awful e-mail. they just keep hurting themselves.

randomtransplant

It doesn't even say Netflix in the "From:" field. I thought it was spam.

schmeep

You can download the Qwikster app through Friendster on Prodigy Dial up.

Trustafarian

really dumb. one of the only reasons i've been sticking with netflix was the fact that mail dvd and streaming were in an integrated site. really no reason now for me to stay with them. I can shop around for both services.