Netflix starts cutting prices

As the great streaming reset begins, Netflix is cutting prices overseas. Rather than saddle people in places like Croatia, Thailand, or Nicaragua with crazy password schemes and new commercial usage tiers, Netflix is just cutting prices to win new subscribers. Here in the USA we pay.

All the major streaming players are in a ton of trouble. Having destroyed the old Television and Movie production economy, and not having replaced it with a system that works, streaming providers are paying far more to make TV and really shitty movies than they are earning with subscriptions.

WSJ:

The streaming company's recent price cuts span Middle Eastern countries including Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran; sub-Saharan African markets including Kenya; and European countries such as Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. In Latin America, nations including Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Venezuela have seen reductions in subscription costs, as have parts of Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The cuts apply to certain tiers of Netflix in those markets — in some cases halving the cost of a subscription.

As recently as last month, Netflix executives talked about raising — not lowering — prices. In a January earnings call, co-Chief Executive Greg Peters said the company is looking for places where they can afford to raise prices, which feeds continued content investments. "We think of ourselves as a non-substitutable good," Mr. Peters said. Netflix also has an opportunity to add new subscribers in markets where it doesn't currently have a large share, he said.

Via SlashDot