Warner Bros. makes Netflix delay queue adds by 28 days
updated 06:30 am EST, Fri January 27, 2012
Netflix users hit with new delay
Warner Bros. has altered the terms of its deal with Netflix yet again, throwing up another barrier to users looking to get their hands on a recent release rental. While Netflix users were just getting used to the 56 delay in getting a recent release rental, they will now have to also wait 28 days after a new DVD has been released before they can even add it to their queue. An anonymous insider has tipped the LA Times that the new arrangement takes effect on February 1.
The latest move by Warner Bros. is designed to help ensure that sales and profits of new release DVD, Blu-ray and its video-on-demand rental service are maximized. Warner Bros. makes significantly more per view from these strategies than it does through Netflix and other similar services. However, for Netflix users, the value equation in their subscriptions continues to be stretched thinner.
Netflix yesterday reported that its profit slumped by 13 percent year-over-year to $41 million. Although it had added 220,000 new subscribers, its price hike, led to the company shedding 2.76 million disc-based subscriptions. Despite the downturn, Netflix remains the leading movie streaming service in the US with NPD data showing that it has two-thirds of the market ahead of the next nearest competitor in Apple’s iTunes.
