Netflix has released a notice to customers stating that the streaming option for Netflix is $7.99 and the DVD option is a separate $7.99 charge. The fact that internet rage has taken over has me a bit puzzled. Unlimited streaming, 1 DVD a month. With the price hikes in mobile data and the withdrawal of many unlimited plans with said technology, I would think that $15 a month for unlimited streaming and a DVD to boot wouldn’t be too much to ask in an age of internet excess.

In the not so distant past, there was a company named Blockbuster who regularly charged upwards of $5 or more for a rental, and in my recollection it was only for one or two nights, depending on whether it was a new release or not. Return it late, and they charged outrageous return fees. Netflix does neither of these things. If you lose the DVD, yes you have to pay for it, which would be expected, but you can take that possible hurdle out completely (which I had to do after losing 2 DVDs) and just get the streaming package for $8 a month. I used to watch a TON of TV, my DVR box was always full, but I got tired of paying for Crapcast service and just went with Netflix. It has been more than a year now, and the money I have saved + no commercials = happy me.

If you don’t like the price hike, by all means, cancel your subscription or switch to the all streaming option. But keep in mind, Netflix has to pay over 1 BILLION dollars in order to license the content that they are offering to consumers, and it costs money to add DVD titles to their streaming queue. Even Forbes agrees that the hatred is above and beyond what is really necessary for the price change. That article breaks down the cost per movie/TV show, and it is about 40 cents on average for that author, comparing to $5 or more from a traditional rental store. Do the math.

Netflix doesn’t owe the consumer anything, much the same way that Home Depot doesn’t owe construction workers who buy products from them. Netflix is a business, trying to make money and stay afloat in a terrible economy. Netflix is doing it right, enraged people of the internet are not. Internet rage needs to be replaced with lots and lots of pictures of cats. Why? Because this is what the internet does best.