this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
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Netflix Hints at Price Increases, Plans to Retire Basic Service Amid Ad-Tier Growth::Netflix says subscriptions to its ad-supported service grew by 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

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[–] [email protected] 97 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Why not? They saw subscriber count go up after blocking shared accounts. Not like people give a shit.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago

People on average will roll over and take most anything.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

I predicted exactly this when they first announced cheaper subscriptions with ads. People were raving that they'd abandon Netflix, because of price hikes commercials and preventing unlimited shared accounts. I suppose some did, but more was added with the cheaper option. So 100% a gain for Netflix. I even considered buying stock in Netflix, but didn't in part because the stock market was pretty shaky at the time. But it would have been a decent investment.

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[–] [email protected] 81 points 11 months ago (10 children)

18 billion yearly profit last I checked.

Not enough.

Never enough.

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[–] [email protected] 79 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The enshittification continues

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

It's called rent-seeking. There's already a well studied term for the phenomenon. I'm happy that young people are starting to recognize it, but this isn't anything new. This is how capitalism works.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 11 months ago

What I find interesting is it seems like we are again converging on the same service as cable. Which suggests that the best method of profiting off watching movies/tv at home is to have ad supported entertainment, with a monthly fee.

Once again, the profit motive ruins something good .

[–] [email protected] 53 points 11 months ago

I plan to retire Netflix amid ad growth.

Fuck off Netflix.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Netflix already costs over $185 a year. For that price I can rent 6 5k UHD movies a month at redbox and get much higher quality viewing. I can't find 6 good things to watch any given month on Netflix. I might turn my membership back on for the final season of Cobra Kai or Stranger Things, but there's just not much else that's compelling me to spend that money.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

And rip those disc's while you're at it...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

With what type of software? Oh, MakeMKV, that sounds simple and easy!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Redbox is still a thing? Huh

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, because its other plans are STUPIDLY expensive, their content and original shows don't justify the price.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Price anchoring, they show you* the big price and now you think the smaller one is a great deal.

*Not you you, you us, we. Hmmm

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Price anchoring should be illegal honestly

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

God their lineup sucks balls. It's all the same juvenile drama dressed up in different genre costumes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Fucking true, im only hanging around with it because the wife likes watching some of the shows…

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I hate shareholder capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

That's just capitalism.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Obligatory, “if it happens I’m out” post

For reals though fuck these gonks

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Corpo rat scum

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Just like when they banned shared accounts too I bet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Didn’t really affect me but I really should of just in principle, not that it seems it made a difference in the business model though

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I cancelled prime the day they sent the no more ad free email.

Netflix doesn't even provide me with low quality counterfeit goods that get lost in transit, so this is a super easy decision.

Heh. What am I saying? I cancelled Netflix last year when my kid's graduation coincided with their shared password crackdown. I only still had it so she could use it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Same here and I cancelled Netflix back when they announced they were cracking down on shared accounts. Arrrrrrr

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago

I already unsubscribed and start sailing when the account share thing happened, but people are willing to take anything these days... so good for netflix I suppose.

101 businessman logic: slowly stretch it until numbers go down, and then back down a bit, just to keep trying stretching it further in a later time. Repeat.

infinite growth guaranteed.

This is why at this point I don't trust any subscription type thing, they are all destined to end up in that cycle, which, good for them, I think it'll have to explode eventually, or not, who cares, I'm already out anyway

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Lol at the people still paying. Learn to use the internet.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I only had Netflix because it was ~~free~~ included with my T-Maybe account. They are switching it to the ad supported tier today as base, and a user has to pay extra for the non-ad supported tiers.

My plan going forward is to watch the first episode with ads and if I like it I'll search the high seas for the rest.

The enshitification continues.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

Once they changed it to paying that like $1 extra for the plan, I noped off TMobile. No use for it anymore when Google Fi is way cheaper for just 2 people. I just pirated everything anyways even when we had the subscription

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

“Time to extract profit from the losers-er I mean customers that are left”

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

We've really been weighing whether we use Netflix enough to justify the cost lately. Don't push us, Netflix.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

been free for two or three years. i haven't missed a thing, as far as i can tell.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

They smell the blood in the water now.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hahaha. If they remove the "basic" which I believe is standard since that's the lowest I see. Only leaving the Premium option then I'm afraid I'm going to pull a full dragon's den.

I really did like Netflix, but they're just getting greedy and trying to extract blood from stone now. And for that reason, I'll be out should they remove the standard tier.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Lol... Just 1 out 2 more kicks to the balls and I'm outta here!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Well, I've not been affected so far. But this will definitely be a huge hit to me and that will be it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Isn't this like actually the 5th or 6th price hike in the last year? I already cancelled Netflix when they cracked down on password sharing but this just feels like they're trying to lose customers

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