Imagine a world where if you wanted to watch a movie you didn’t own, you had to actually take time out of your busy schedule, get off your couch, physically leave your house, drive to the nearest rental store, and pray that the movie you wanted was in stock. If your prayers were answered, you would then take it to the register, pay your six dollar or-so rental cost, drive it all the way back home, watch it, and return it within its due date to avoid paying a ton of extra money in late fees. Sounds like a veritable hell, doesn’t it? I lived in this brutal state of inconvenience just a few years ago, but with streaming web video and companies like Netflix, those days are, thankfully, long over.
For those who don’t know, Netflix is a rental service that offers its customers a flat monthly rate to have DVDs and Blu-ray Discs delivered to their homes by mail. The shipping costs are included in the subscription fee and discs are often delivered within one business day. In addition, a subscription offers a “Watch Instantly” service that allows users to stream from an extended library of movies and TV shows directly to their computers from the company website. In today’s digital age, where every form of media from film to news is migrating online, Netflix is one of the most relevant business ventures on the market today.
So assuming you haven’t already, why should you subscribe? Well firstly, it offers a wide range of affordable subscription options, depending on how much free time you have to knock down all the DVDs showing up in your mailbox in those trademark red envelopes. Unlimited plans start at $8.99 a month, which is the one I’m using and satisfied with. It allows me to rent one DVD at a time and stream as much instant viewing content as I want. If that’s not enough, you can rent all the way up to eight DVDs at a time for $47.99 a month, which is perfect if you hate reality. Since it’s operated on a flat monthly rate instead of the traditional Blockbuster one-time-rental model, Netflix has no late fees. So movies like Citizen Kane can sit on your desk collecting dust for as long as you want without you having to pay any extra price!
Since I’ve had a Netflix account, I rarely feel the need to own DVDs anymore; unless there’s a particular movie or show I plan on watching a disproportional number of times, I don’t need to buy it. The service offers just about every movie and TV show you can think of, and as long as you keep sending them back, new ones will continue to arrive promptly. Either way, you might find yourself taking advantage of the instant viewing feature even more than the DVDs by mail. Just this month, Netflix negotiated with Hollywood production studios Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM, in a deal reportedly worth $1 billion. The arrangement should expand the company’s library of films available to “Watch Instantly,” and include major releases from all three studios, such as Star Trek, James Bond and Indiana Jones. So if you’re tired of pesky late fees, expensive theater tickets, and exclusively watching the same old movies from your limited collection of DVDs, give Netflix a try.
What's your preferred method of watching movies? Your TV, your computer, or would you rather go to the movie theater?
Alex is a smile.ly Community Manager. Netflix did not pay him to write this article. He does own a few shares of their stock, though. Other products he endorses include Taco Bell, Spongebob, Nutella, Crumbs Bake Shop, John Mayer, and those plastic thingies on the ends of shoelaces.
Share this article using the bit.ly link provided!: http://bit.ly/91SOmW