Limitations On the Horizon?

Think about it folks.  Netflix just announced the are breaking in two.  DVD rentals will be through Qwickster, while Netflix will simply be the home of unlimited streaming.

But what seems to getting missed here is a rather simple fact.  With the DVD rentals, Netflix had a tiered program.  You could have one out at a time, or two or three…with slight price hikes.  But with streaming, there is not quite the same option.  You have all those videos available online.  And I cannot imagine Netflix will want to continue $8.99 for unlimited streaming videos.

I suspect that what we will see in another year (or sooner) is a tiered streaming system.  Something along the line of … say… $8.99 for 45 videos a month.  $13.99 for 90 videos a month.  $19.99 for 160 videos a month.  And so on and so on.

Or, maybe, they will tier it by “packages”… low budget, blockbuster, “new Releases”, “Old Releases”.  Or maybe there will a split between standard and hi-def.  Possibly Premium Channels?  I don’t know.  But I am not going to be at all shocked if they move their streaming video into a setup more similar to their old DVD setup.