Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder of Netflix.

Mr. Hastings,

Assuming you’ve recently been inundated with angry emails, I thought I’d quickly and respectfully explain why so many of your customers are baffled and discouraged by your decision to split the streaming and DVD services. Let me start with a question:

What made Netflix great?

Fast shipping? Great prices? Yes, both were huge factors in your company’s rapid growth, but what really made Netflix valuable to so many people was your vast selection of titles. What people couldn’t find streaming could be found on DVD, and what couldn’t be found on DVD was streaming. If I want to watch a classic like “Vertigo” I can get it in the mail in 1-2 business days. For something newer like “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” hey, I can get it in a few seconds streamed right to my computer. This streaming/DVD combo, billed together and organized on the same site, is your biggest asset because it places virtually the entire history of film at the finger tips/mailboxes of your subscribers. Personally, I’ve found that that combo has been the biggest selling point when telling my friends and family about Netflix.

Now, I understand the forward-thinking decision to put all your eggs in the streaming basket. Admittedly, that’s eventually where things are going. But the problem you’ve inadvertently created by splitting the services is that you’ve forced subscribers to either stomach a drastic 60% price hike, or choose between two services, which, let’s face it, are inferior on their own. You haven’t left customers with a single appealing option. Any reasonably competent person could have seen this debacle coming a mile away. It seems your phobia of becoming the next AOL has caused you to jump the gun in an irrational bid to avoid being perceived as outdated. The reality is that you’re already known for your streaming service. You were never in danger of falling behind technologically. But, instead of recognizing this and taking the rational approach by building up your streaming content to the point that it could stand on its own, and then splitting the services, you’ve put all your eggs in a basket that’s just not yet up to the task of holding all those eggs.

I hope this analysis helps you better understand the reason for all the anger, and, perhaps, will give you cause to reconsider your position. Thank you.

Best regards,

Eric M. Armstrong
Editor in Chief,
The Moving Arts Film Journal