Netflix today announced new DVD only plans that will allow subscribers watch unlimited movies and video online and get DVDs by mail.
Netflix new DVD only plans are available for $7.99 a month for its 1 DVD out at-a-time plan and $11.99 a month for our 2 DVDs out at-a-time plan. New members can sign up for these plans by going to DVD.netflix.com.
The company is also separating unlimited DVDs by mail and unlimited streaming into separate plans: a streaming only plan, a DVD only plan or the option to subscribe to both. With this change, the company will no longer offer a plan that includes both unlimited streaming and DVDs by mail.
So for instance, the company's current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:
Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming), for $7.99 a month.
The price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). For new members, these changes are effective immediately; for existing members, the new pricing will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.
"Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs," Netflix Vice President of Marketing Jessie Becker wrote in a company blog post.
In related news, Netflix, and NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution today announced a multi-year renewal of their licensing agreement expanding the selection of non-exclusive NBCU film and TV library titles available to watch instantly streaming from Netflix.