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Netflix Reverses Decision, Abandons Controversial Rental Strategy

Oct 10, 2011  •  Post A Comment

Netflix announced today that it is abandoning a recently announced plan that was poorly received by customers, The New York Times reports in its Media Decoder blog.

The company will keep its online streaming and DVD-by-mail services together under one banner, abandoning plans to rebrand the DVD program as Qwikster, the story reports.

Said Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey: “We underestimated the appeal of the single web site and a single service. We greatly underestimated it.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings declined to be interviewed, but issued a statement saying: “Consumers value the simplicity Netflix has always offered and we respect that. There is a difference between moving quickly — which Netflix has done very well for years — and moving too fast, which is what we did in this case.”

The story adds: “Netflix said it never actually separated the services or started Qwikster. But the Sept. 18 announcement that it intended to do so stoked anger among Netflix customers, some of whom were already incensed by a price hike to $16 from $10 for those who receive both DVDs and streaming. (That increase will remain in place.)”

3 Comments

  1. I was reading about this in another trade publication, and was mulling over joining Netflix. Then, I got a pop-up for Netflix, and I decided not to join. Why should I support a company who repeatedly annoys me with pop-ups? NEVER!

  2. Most browsers have pop-up blockers, so what’s the problem? Ask someone to show you how to turn it on…

  3. Best I can tell…they now took away the ugly option to choose one or the other plan…so that now we get to keep our old plan for just 60% more @ month.
    CANCEL.

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