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Netflix Says It Will Test Lower-Price Subscription Plans (bloomberg.com) 77

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
Netflix says it plans to begin testing lower-priced subscription in some markets in a bid to see if it will help the company boost the number of subscribers, CEO Reed Hastings told Bloomberg. The company has not identified the markets where it will be testing the lower-priced subscription, and has not clarified how soon it intends to conduct these tests. The company will likely consider Asian markets where it is having a tough time gaining the market share against local services that are much aggressively priced.
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Netflix Says It Will Test Lower-Price Subscription Plans More

Netflix Says It Will Test Lower-Price Subscription Plans

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  • does it mean programs will be even worse than from the expensive version?

  • I am a qualified test engineer. Let me help Netflix with the test plan.

    Objective: determine if customers are able to achieve the same level of enjoyment while paying less.

    Procedure: 1. Lower prices.

    Conclusion: Yes, they can.

    If you have to test for this, then I have some bad news for you...

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Netflix wants to maximize ARPU*subscribers, not subscribers alone. Lowering prices can increase total revenue and it can decrease total revenue. They're trying to find out which it is. You would need an engineer with a background in control theory for that, not a test engineer.

  • Unless Netflix has some sort of luxury-good status, I would be very surprised if lowering costs did not lead to increased market share... except you piss off your loyal customer base, who now pay more than new customers!

    • Well, I'm not a subscriber. I probably wont be either, unless they give the damn things away. For me it's not a pricing issue at all, but an issue with the rather limited, lackluster catalogue available in my country. It has become more and more limited. I've tried a trial month a few times over the years, but invariably by the time the month is up, I've watched everything I would want to watch that's on offer. What is the point, then?

      By all means, charge more for a more comprehensive catalogue and I might

    • TFA is clear they're not offering the same service for less -- they're offering less service for less:

      Netflix offers subscriptions at three price levels, and doesn’t plan to lower that of its cheapest tier. Instead, executives are formulating an alternate version of the service, or a fourth tier, that will have different features and cost less.

      • "Low service" might just mean lower-resolution or only being able to view on one screen at a time. Considering that we only have one TV and it's still 720p, that would be a perfect plan for my apartment.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by dgatwood ( 11270 )

          What would be better would be a $3/month plan that provides only Netflix original content. Separate their original content catalog from their shared catalog, which likely has overlap with other content aggregators.

        • Netflix Canada:

          Basic, CAD$8.99/month
          Watch on 1 screen at a time in Standard Definition. Download videos on 1 phone or tablet.

          Standard, CAD$10.99/month
          Watch on 2 screens at a time. HD available. Download videos on 2 phones or tablets.

          Premium, CAD$13.99/month
          Watch on 4 screens at a time. HD and Ultra HD available. Download videos on 4 phones or tablets.

      • TFA is clear they're not offering the same service for less -- they're offering less service for less:

        But their market strategy has been to force customers into packages they didn't need (not unlikely cable, though with more simulationous views packages instead of more pointless channels)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AHuxley ( 892839 )
          Depends on the connection speed and number of people. Why pay more for 4K and the ability to watch on extra screens?
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • What about a on stream plan thet gives me uhd, as a singele person indonâ(TM)t need or wanr multiple simultsnius streams but I do want UHD, ok I know uhd is still a bit of a premium product so I would be willing to pay a little exstra for singel uhd stream thrn single hd stream, but what us the deail wit paying for streams I would never use, unless I brak the tos and share the account with a friend

    • Are you having a stroke?

    • Put down that iPhone and get an Android with a swipe keyboard.

      I'm in the same boat, but multiple people in the house. Still only need one stream right now. On the one hand, it's an extra they can throw in for basically free (but so is UHD), but on the other hand multiple screen subscriptions are often shared across multiple households.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by badbart ( 929284 )

        Put down that iPhone and get an Android with a swipe keyboard.

        I have 3 swipe keyboards for my iPhone. The problem isn't with the input device...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by GoTeam ( 5042081 )
      I think I know what you're asking for. They have a 4k level available for monthly subscription. No, they do no have a package that would only allow one stream at a time.

  • "What if we charged less?"
    What if your primary creative decision wasn't "we should adapt already existing content and make a character a different race"
    What if you stopped hemorrhaging the movie content you sold us on
    What if you just sold your company to the one actually hosting your content, Amazon, and gave up trying to be a television network

  • Sorry, Netflix your content sucks. Your own productions suck, the movies suck because Hollywood hasn't produced anything original in over a decade and now you've decide that politically motivated content is a winner. Fuck that, I can get that free on CNN or MSNBC.

    • I think dozens of millions of people disagree with you here, including me.

      Their content isn't all wonderful, there are bad shows and movies, but there are also very, very good ones, and most importantly, there is content in a quite wide spectrum, that you can watch at ANYTIME you wish.

      And comparing netflix to CNN and MSNBC is comparing apple to oranges.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Luthair ( 847766 )
        Netflix has taken to slapping the Netflix label on content which they've exclusively licensed in a region rather than produced, I suspect you'll find those are the 'good ones'. IMO Netflix is pursuing the cable model, its all about the volume not the quality.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Netflix seems to have plenty of non-Hollywood choices (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, European) for films, documentaries, and shows. If anything, it's lacking in Hollywood stuff more than in choice in general.

  • $10.99 a month isn't ruinous, but maybe Netflix could create live streams of local television content in my area. 40 or so channels, ala-carte would be nice. I don't need any shopping channels though.

     

    • Can't you just get a Mohu antenna and get this stuff for $0 per month?

  • Compared to cable, their content is awesome. Lots of foreign films and TV shows that you can't (legally) get in the US any other way.

    I guess it's bad if you're a sports fan, but NFLX and TV antenna does pretty well for me. Total nut including Internet is about $50/mo.

  • Can I pay extra for some features? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    (1) Ability to turn off ALL autoplaying everywhere including when browsing and at the end of any show.
    (2) Ability to have things I have already seen FILTERED from the various lists.
    (3) Ability to to have things I have watched that I liked be automatically re-added to the "Currently Watching" list when a new season becomes available.
    (4) Ability to FILTER based on "original language"

    Most of these things (except #2) existed at one time, but NetFlix has done away with them.

    • (1) I think there's a Chrome extension that blocks some of the auto-preview features.
      (4) Shows up as a search suggestion if you search for a specific language.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • ...is because the library is fickle, and shrinking. I'm not interested in throwing money down the trash for a "library" where the stuff I love today could be gone next month. And studies have shown that the library is getting smaller and smaller, which more leaving the library than is being added back to it. Sorry, screw you Netflx and all the other streamers... I'll stick with owning my own streaming library via my Plex server and my owned legit 1000 or so discs.

  • I don't know how much time I've wasted browsing the catalog, finding something sorta interesting, only to discover its in random-foreign-language with dicey subs. I'll sit there and read subs sometimes, but the content has to be on the extreme upper end of fantastic for me to sit through that crap. If they're going to use random imports to pump & dump the library, they're gonna need to at least invest in some dubbing.

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