Is Netflix the new cable guy?
Reed Hastings, CEO Netflix in Buenos Aires earlier this month
Customers tired of abuse from cable companies found a refuge in Netflix, the video rental service that won over Wall Street with a fast-growing and fiercely loyal stable of subscribers wowed by great customer service.
The old cable narrative has always been about cable cowboys acting like typical old world monopolies: providing poor customer service (here’s a video of a Comcast technician having a nap on the job), terrible user experience and still having the nerve to raise prices every year. Cable companies have changed and evolved in the last decade but not enough for many customers.
Netflix was supposed to be different — very different.
It had a responsive customer service, a pleasant user experience and also fairly simple pricing. It was the opposite of cable. In no time at all users were telling their friends about Netflix.
That might have all changed.
Netflix has angered so many customers it was forced to lower its fourth-quarter subscriber projections, and CEO Reed Hastings offered an apology for the company’s handling of a recent price increase.
Hastings acknowledged many subscribers “felt we lacked respect and humility” when the company announced in July it was raising the cost for DVD subscribers by as much as $6 a month, or 60 percent. He said he “messed up” and “slid into arrogance based upon past success.”
Hastings did not, however, roll back the price increase.
Many customers weren’t buying the apology, with negative reactions piling up on the Netflix blog. Plus, Hastings provoked more anger by moving the DVD business to a separate website from the streaming service. That will force customers of both services to visit two different sites.
Netflix splits DVD and streaming services
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Top video rental company Netflix Inc split off its DVD service to a separate website called Qwikster, setting off another round of complaints from customers already angry at a price increase and sending its shares down 7 percent.
Negative comments piled up on the company website on Monday, a little more than two months after Netflix raised prices for DVD services. Chief Executive Reed Hastings admitted to “arrogance” over failing to adequately explain the changes in an apology that rang hollow to many customers.
Netflix renames DVD business Qwikster, shares fall
LOS ANGELES, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Top video rental company
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will rename its DVD-by-mail business and
split it off to a separate website, sparking a new round of
customer complaints and concern by some analysts that customers
might drop the service.
The company’s shares fell more than 7 percent on Monday.
Negative comments piled up on the company website on
Monday, a little more than two months after Netflix raised
price, also bring negative customer reaction. Some analysts
said more subscribers might drop the service.
Netflix DVDs to be Quikster, on separate site
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Top video rental company Netflix Inc will rename its DVD-by-mail business and split it off to a separate website, sparking a new round of customer complaints and concern by some analysts that customers might drop the service.
The company’s shares fell almost 7 percent on Monday.
Negative comments piled up on the company website on Monday, a little more than two months after Netflix raised price, also bring negative customer reaction. Some analysts said more subscribers might drop the service.
3D ‘Lion King’ reigns at top of movie box office
LOS ANGELES, Sept 18 (Reuters) – “The Lion King” is back on
top of the movie jungle seventeen years after the film first
hit theaters.
A 3D version of the 1994 Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) animated
classic reclaimed the box office throne with a strong $29.3
million in domestic ticket sales over the weekend, studio
estimates released on Sunday showed.
Netflix lowers U.S. subscriber forecast; shares fall
By Yinka Adegoke and Lisa Richwine
(Reuters) – Netflix Inc cut its third-quarter forecast by 1 million U.S. subscribers, sending its shares down nearly 19 percent, as the company known for rapid growth expects more fallout from a price increase on its DVD service.
On Thursday, Netflix said it would have 24 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, down from a prior forecast of about 25 million given soon after the July announcement of the price increase.
‘Contagion’ catches box office lead
LOS ANGELES, Sept 11 (Reuters) – “Contagion” gripped
filmgoers as the thriller about the race to contain a deadly
virus took hold of the top spot at the domestic box office and
knocked hit drama “The Help” to second place.
“Contagion” brought in an estimated $23.1 million at U.S.
and Canadian theaters over its first three days, distributor
Warner Bros. said on Sunday. Six international markets added
another $2.1 million.
Disney’s consumer products chief resigns
LOS ANGELES, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
consumer products chief resigned on Tuesday to pursue other
leadership roles, after running the unit for nearly 12 years.
Andrew Mooney, known for creating the popular Disney
Princess franchise, “has decided to resign from his post,”
Disney said in a statement. A replacement has not been named.
‘The Help’ wins box office, summer hits record
LOS ANGELES, Sept 5 (Reuters) – The maids of “The Help”
didn’t take the Labor Day weekend off. The surprise summer hit
held firm at the top of the domestic box office for the third
straight week with $19 million in ticket sales.
The drama about white women and their black maids in Civil
Rights-era Mississippi polished off three new films based on
four-day estimates released by movie studios on Monday, the
U.S. Labor Day holiday that ended a record summer at U.S. and
Canadian theaters. “The Help,” a critics favorite that debuted
a month ago in the No. 2 spot, was produced by DreamWorks and
distributed by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
Netflix shares fall after stumble with Starz
LOS ANGELES/BANGALORE, Sept 2 (Reuters) – High-flying
Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) saw its shares fall 8.6 percent on Friday
after failing to secure a chunk of movie content for the online
service it touts as the future of its popular video rental
business.
The collapse of talks, announced Thursday, with cable
channel operator Starz Entertainment underscored investor
concerns that Netflix may lose its edge in online rentals.
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