Netflix is dropping Quickster idea

Good news from the Huffington Post! Read on...Netflix fans!!!

Netflix has killed off Qwikster before the the DVD-only service announced in September even launched.

In a blog posted Monday morning, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that Netflix would pull the plug on Qwikster, citing the confusion that would arise from having a separate, DVD-only offering. Qwikster and Netflix would have operated on two separate websites without integration between the two, requiring users to pay two different companies each month, maintain two separate profiles, and post any movie reviews twice.

"It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs," Hastings wrote. "This means no change: one website, one account, one password� in other words, no Qwikster."

Qwikster was unpopular from the get-go among users.

"Splitting Netflix in two so that you have Netflix and Qwikster is the worst business decision since New Coke," wrote a disgruntled customer, one of over 27,000 who commented on Hastings' blog post.

The decision to launch Qwikster as a separate DVD-only business followed Netflix's controversial price hike that did away with its $9.99 per month subscription plan offering unlimited streaming and DVD-rentals, and replaced it with two separate $7.99 per month plans offering unlimited streaming or the ability to rent one DVD at a time. In other words, what previously cost users $9.99 per month would cost them $15.98.

When Hastings first unveiled Qwikster, he explained that the unique challenges required to market and provide DVD rentals made it necessary to operate this service as its own business:

[W]e realized that streaming and DVD by mail are becoming two quite different businesses, with very different cost structures, different benefits that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently. It�s hard for me to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary and best: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to �Qwikster�.

Now that nightmarish idea is demolished!! Yay!:D
Happy days are here again!
la8r!
Fascade518

yes they are, because I and zillions of other Netflix subscribers told them in no uncertain terms it was a DUMB idea. Their reversal highlights why I like complaining. it sometimes gets desired results. :)

It was foolish to begin with.

Love when consumers band together and actually force change... like the HTC bootloader fiasco.

What blows is they split the price for the streaming and DVD mailings up.

I don't have internet at home, so I can't justify paying for streaming internet to use a once or twice a year when my co-worker calls in sick or needs a PTO day. She never leaves and when she does, it's unexpected and never scheduled so I don't have time to bring DVDs from home to watch at work.

still not signing back up. Dont miss it at all. Hulu has got my needs covered for now

Pardon my ignorance, but can you watch Netflix on any BlackBerry device?

Originally Posted by howarmat

still not signing back up. Dont miss it at all. Hulu has got my needs covered for now

for grins I tried hulu plus. cancelled it within 4 days. neither myself or my wife could find any redeeming value in Hulu Plus. Netflix FTW--I'll never live long enough to see everything I'd like to watch on Netflix. It takes the place of network TV for us. I ditched Comcast in early 2010 due to a lack of decent programming and poor selection on On Demand. We can always find something to watch each day (numerous times) on NF.

Originally Posted by lotuslanderz

Pardon my ignorance, but can you watch Netflix on any BlackBerry device?

no you cannot.

Originally Posted by lotuslnderz

Pardon my ignorance, but can you watch Netflix on any BlackBerry device?

NF is glorious on a Bionic. :) My old Storm2 is about as useful as week old bread.

It is great that they scrapped the Qwikster disaster. Now they need to cut prices back again.

Everyone saw Qwikster as what it was - a way for Netflix to redirect any complaints about price increases to a third party that couldn't possibly be held accountable for them. Glad they ditched it.