A recent article on venturebeat.com grabbed my attention. Remember all that brouhaha last summer, when Netflix
The article stated that some redditt.com users have noticed that a separate Web page has been set up for DVD customers, where users are redirected when they try to rate movies on the main site. Other changes have taken place as well: Searching for DVD-only titles returns only streaming choices, and ratings and recommendations by DVD and streaming customers are now separate.
I have an as-yet-untapped gift DVD subscription I received for Christmas, so I checked out the site myself. The Netflix site has indeed changed, with a new support page that sends searchers to the site "dvd.netflix.com" to sign up for a DVD-only account. Interesting.
Streaming content is king
It's hard to blame Netflix for its emphasis on streaming versus DVD rental. New market data shows that the disc-rental business is down 3.4% from 2010 to 2011, with the last quarter showing the greatest loss year over year. The one bright spot is Coinstar's
Netflix also faces tough competition from Amazon.com
DVD spinoff?
In my mind, there's definitely something afoot, at least for customers of the DVD-by-mail plan, and time will tell whether a full-fledged splitting of the two services is really in Netflix's sights. My opinion is that it is, and having learned its lesson last year about making a big splash with news that isn't popular with customers, it's hoping to make the change quietly. In an interview shortly after the famous backpedal last fall, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the company had made a mistake by separating the two, as well as by setting up a separate website. Well, there is definitely a new website, so watch the news to see how this venture unfolds. Meanwhile, I'd better start using my gift subscription before Netflix goes out of business entirely.
Verizon and Coinstar aren't the only bit companies getting in on the mobile revolution. Check out our free report to see who else is raking in profits with this medium -- and how you can, too!