Netflix hasn't been doing well communicating with its movie-loving customer base in the past six months (remember Qwikster?), and the company tripped up again this week.
A post published on the company's official blog, stating customers can now sign up for the $7.99 DVD-only plan, led many users to believe it was flip-flopping on available plans.
Netflix Director of DVD Engineering Santosh Hegde stated: "Starting today, our DVD and Blu-Ray loving audience can now easily sign up for a DVD only plan. Starting at just $7.99/month, you can enjoy around 100,000 titles on DVD. We are also offering a 1 month free trial for eligible customers."
Apparently, Netflix was merely announcing the new URL (dvd.netflix.com) for customers to sign up for DVD-only plans, which had long been available.
Netflix's communication woes began with July's decision to split its unlimited DVD and unlimited streaming services into two separate plans. More than 800,000 angry customers canceled their subscriptions in response.
Traditional plans cost $9.99 for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.
July's new plans brought customer options down to: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month and Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming), for $7.99 a month.
This essentially doubled the original $9.99 unlimited plan to $15.98 a month. After Netflix's short-lived DVD-handling company Qwikster shuttered, customers who wanted to borrow DVDs from Netflix had to be have a streaming plan. See the video above to learn more or browse the gallery below to learn more about Netflix's up and downs.
Are you still a Netflix customer? Is the DVD-only plan appealing to you? Let us know in the comments.
BONUS: Chronicling Netflix's Downturn, July to October 2011
July 13, 2011
Netflix stock more than doubled over the previous year, then increased by 15% in May to reach its last all-time high in July of $300.
Sept. 1, 2011
Netflix cancelled its $9.99 combined streaming and DVD plan and separated the services into two separate $7.99 plans.
Photo courtesy of Flickr, matthew393
Sept. 19, 2011
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings introduced Qwikster, the company that would take over its DVD service.
Oct. 10, 2011
Recognizing that Qwikster would end up "making things more difficult" for its customers, Reed Hasting announced that Netflix will forego DVD rebranding.
Oct. 24, 2011
By Monday Oct. 24, over 805,000 Netflix customers had cancelled their subscriptions due to the company price hike.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Ross Catrow
Oct. 25, 2011
By premarket trading Tuesday morning, Netflix stock had fallen another 10% since the evening before.
July 13, 2011
Netflix stock more than doubled over the previous year, then increased by 15% in May to reach its last all-time high in July of $300.
Sept. 1, 2011
Netflix cancelled its $9.99 combined streaming and DVD plan and separated the services into two separate $7.99 plans.
Photo courtesy of Flickr, matthew393
Sept. 19, 2011
The stock dropped 50% from its July 13 all-time high.
Netflix Price Stock Chart by YCharts
Sept. 19, 2011
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings introduced Qwikster, the company that would take over its DVD service.
Oct. 10, 2011
Recognizing that Qwikster would end up "making things more difficult" for its customers, Reed Hasting announced that Netflix will forego DVD rebranding.
Oct. 24, 2011
By Monday Oct. 24, over 805,000 Netflix customers had cancelled their subscriptions due to the company price hike.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Ross Catrow
Oct. 24, 2011
Down to $85 share price from $300 this summer, Netflix's stock fell 27% following the announcement that it had lost 800,000 customers.
Netflix Stock Chart by YCharts
Oct. 25, 2011
By premarket trading Tuesday morning, Netflix stock had fallen another 10% since the evening before.
Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar
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