InsidEPR

Netflix Pricing Changes: Why Not Usage-Based?

By Neila Matheny

Since Netflix introduced the "Watch Instantly" streaming feature, consumer reviews were quite favorable. Many consumers relied on Netflix as their only over-the-top (OTT) video service, eliminating television service altogether, while many others continued to receive DVDs in the mail of their favorite movies and new releases.

However, when Netflix announced last week that they would charge separate fees for the streaming and DVD services, which resulted in a 60 percent pricing increase, the social media firestorm began. After receiving a combined service for so long, consumers were asked to take on this increase without any additional services or features, essentially the same service, with plans for catalog expansion for streaming titles in the future.

For me, the pricing hike prompted me to cancel my service. I realized, once everyone on Twitter was blasting the news, that I hadn’t watched my last Netflix DVD in six months. Worse than that, I didn’t even know where it was. (No worries, I found it within the six-day window in order to avoid a lost DVD fee.) But, why hadn’t I watched it. For a few reasons:

• OnDemand – I recently switched to AT&T’s U-Verse and love their OnDemand selections. While it may be pricey to pay $4.99 for some of the new releases, I only have to pay for what I actually watch. So, after paying over nine dollars a month for Netflix movies I hadn’t watched, I am actually saving.
• Delays and Waits – While it normally only took three days to return a DVD and get a new one in the mail, there was still a delay in receiving the movies, especially when I wanted to watch a newly released movie that was often not available for weeks through the DVD service and not at all for streaming. Once again, OnDemand is instant.
• Technical Streaming Issues – My PC is from the olden days and has its storage space maxed out with iTunes files. So, streaming on this old machine never has worked out well. However, I often find that I will turn to streaming when I missed a recent news event, such as Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jaycee Dugard, which is not available on Netflix. So, the network websites are normally the best answer in that scenario.

Maybe I am not the perfect Netflix consumer, ready to rely on streaming for everything. However, I think if they had offered a pay-as-you-go option, I may have stayed on as a customer. I have seen many other comments on various blogs, articles and social media sites about this topic. So, I wonder, why didn’t they go in that direction?

Has this news forced you to reconsider your Netflix account? Let us know what actions you have taken.

Tech Commercials: a whole lot of nothing

By Dale Legaspi

Have you ever watched a commercial and been irritated by the facts not really adding up or making sense?  If you don’t possess the technology to fast forward through commercials and have been forced to sit through them, the answer most likely is “yes.” This is especially true of those of us who work in tech and understand the real meaning (or lack thereof) behind technology commercials.

If you’ve ever seen a commercial for cable, you will note that  three of the main players (Comcast Xfinity, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS) all go out of their way to tout their various “advantages” over one another. Yes, you will get the most bandwidth from FiOS, and yes, FiOS uses fiber optic cables. 

But so do Xfinity and (to an extent) U-Verse—despite what the creepy talking ball of wires in Comcast commercials will tell you. The difference with FiOS isn’t the medium. It’s the fact that Verizon brings it all the way to the home—thus “fiber to the home” or FTTH.  For the most part, though, consumers don’t even have any idea what fiber optic cable is. They just want the TV and the Internet to be reliable and fast. 

Another example that started in the enterprise but is making its way into consumer-facing advertising  is cloud computing or “the cloud.”  A special thank you goes out to Microsoft for putting out its obnoxious series of commercials that incorrectly uses the term “the cloud” to describe its on-line collaboration and productivity tool, thereby destroying the true meaning of cloud computing.

What these commercials are referring to is that the Internet is often visually depicted as a “cloud.” Applications that don’t reside on your computer but that can be accessed over the Internet (like Yahoo e-mail) are “cloud-based.” That’s it.  Microsoft didn’t invent the Internet, so the fact that it’s trying to brand its on-line collaboration tool as “the cloud” is absolutely ridiculous.  In fact, the collaboration tool is not even an original product idea.  It’s called Google apps. 

These are just a couple examples of the annoying nature of tech commercials, and this is to say nothing of Apple’s use of three repeating musical notes to promote its latest electronic fashion accessory or the exaggerations that mobile operators have made regarding their “4G” networks. 

The fact of the matter is that if there is a technology commercial on TV, it’s a distorted truth at best and an outright lie at worst.  Either way, when you know what’s really going on, the most welcome technological innovation available is the mute button.

The Glitzy World of PR

By Cari Goodrich

Public relations is *glitzy* work, or so shows like “Sex and the City” and MTV’s “The Hills” would have you believe.  Each show profiles PR execs who are successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams - Samantha Jones works with Absolut to secure her boyfriend as the Absolut Hunk, while Heidi, from “The Hills,” who has no college degree, lands a PR gig hosting parties filled with A-list celebrities at some of L.A.’s hottest nightclubs.  Viewers of these shows are treated to a glimpse of the glamorous lifestyles working in PR affords you.  Or does it?

Having worked in tech PR for almost two years, I don’t believe the occupation is being represented correctly at all.  Where’s the show that details the glitz, glamour, and non-stop partying of silicon chips, data storage units, and service provider networks? Perhaps I’ll pitch my own show to MTV that represents what it’s REALLY like to work in PR (at least tech PR).