Netflix has ditched plans to spin off its DVD rental business from its online streaming operations, following a flood of complaints from customers. Less than a month ago, the Netflix said it would split the DVD rental business off on a new website, to be called Qwikster. The company said that customers who want streaming […]
Netflix has ditched plans to spin off its DVD rental business from its online streaming operations, following a flood of complaints from customers. Less than a month ago, the Netflix said it would split the DVD rental business off on a new website, to be called Qwikster. The company said that customers who want streaming movies and DVDs will have to pay for them separately.
11/10/2011
Analysts saw it as a way for Netflix to distance itself from the older DVD business, which has less future potential than Internet streaming.
Many subscribers were unhappy with the change, saying they saw Netflix as a destination for movies in general and didn’t want to manage two accounts.
After the outcry, the company has now made a u-turn and subscribers will now be able to use both services under one account and one password, CEO Reed Hastings said Monday in a blog post.
“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 said in the blog post.
Even with Monday’s premarket bounce, Netflix’s shares have been savaged by the price change and the “Qwikster” initiative. They’ve lost more than half their value since July.
