Netflix: Anything to make a buck
Here’s a notice that I received from Netflix today:
Dear Alan,
As you may know, Blu-ray movies are more expensive than standard definition movies. As a result, we’re going to start charging $1 a month (plus applicable taxes), in addition to your monthly membership charge, for unlimited access to Blu-ray movies.
The additional charge for unlimited Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after November 5th, 2008 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details. If you wish to continue getting Blu-ray movies for $1 a month more, you don’t need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account at the Netflix website.
If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-638-3549.
-The Netflix Team
Let’s do the math, starting with a brand-new release, Iron Man. (Great movie.) I’m sure that Netflix can do better than Amazon.com’s pricing, but let’s use that as a guideline.
• Iron Man “Ultimate Two-Disc Edition” Blu-Ray: $25.95
• Iron Man “Two-Disc Special Collectors’ Edition” DVD: $24.99
There’s a about dollar difference, retail. Probably Netflix will pay a lot less. Given how many times Netflix is going to rent that disc, it hardly seems justified to pass that dollar cost along to the consumer.
I doubt the acq cost is the primary driver. I suspect the added cost is for processing the BluRay as a separate offering from their standard DVDs. Exceptions cost dollars.
Like your conjecture that acq costs are to blame, I’m just guessing.