Thursday, February 19, 2009

A Streaming-Only Netflix Plan in the Works?

I subscribe to the one-out-at-a-time, unlimited Netflix Plan to keep the cost down (currently $8.99 per month), still get a physical DVD every week and to have unlimited access to the Netflix Online Streaming.  Some who use the Roku or XBox360 might wonder why there isn't a streaming-only plan for a little less money.  According to an interview with Bloomberg News, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is considering that very thing.

Hastings didn't reveal how much they might charge for a streaming-only subscription with Netflix, but he did say that this type of play could arrive as soon as "late this year" or 2010.  The question then would be, how much are customers willing to pay for such a service.  They have definitely upgraded their streaming movie collection, but it's still full of older movies and TV shows.  If they had a "premium" streaming service with newer movies and a larger collection, I'd be willing to pay more and I think others would be to.  What do you think?   Would you pay for an online-streaming-only service from Netflix?