Netflix欲减少DVD邮寄，美国邮政或遭重创
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Netflix今天宣布对DVD开战，誓将DVD如同VHS录像带和Betamax录像带一样扫进垃圾箱。 上面的说法也许有些夸张，不过Netflix确实在今天通知2，400万订阅用户，Netflix将取消每月10美元的DVD邮寄和互联网流媒体捆绑服务。Netflix还同时取消了向不限量邮寄DVD用户提供的免费不限量观看流媒体的服务。虽然用户仍能分别购买上述两项服务，但总价将比现行价格高出60%。 科技网站allthingsd.com的皮特•卡夫卡撰文称： 虽然Netflix在官方博客上阐述了提价理由，不过最直接的原因是Netflix希望其DVD用户转向在线视频服务，否则就必须多掏钱。此举将有助于Netflix削减DVD购买成本，以及（或者）带来更多收益以购买数字视频，这些视频的价格已经变得越来越昂贵。 华尔街对此消息反应积极，Netflix的股价上涨了53美分，达到惊人的291.27美元。搜索引擎technorati对此消息似乎有些谨慎，它特别指出，众所周知的是Netflix拥有的DVD数量要比其在线视频数量多得多。 不过，如果要说到真正的不满，就不能不提及美国邮政（the U.S. Postal Service）。当然，美国邮政并没有公开抱怨，不过Netflix首席执行官瑞德•黑斯廷斯在去年10月表示，Netflix每年的DVD邮费为5亿至6亿美元。这大约占据了美国邮政从一级固定费用邮件中所取得的全部收益的20%，占据了所有一级邮件收益的1.7%。 而且，在去年，Netflix向用户邮寄的DVD数量增长了9.7%。如果继续保持这一增速，Netflix在2011年的邮费开销将接近6.6亿美元。 不过现在我们可以预测，Netflix的DVD订阅用户数将会有所下降，这将有助于Netflix提高收益，但要从美国邮政碗里分走一杯羹。大家做好邮费轻微上调的准备吧。 译者：项航 |
Netflix (NFLX) today declared war on DVDs, pledging to relegate them to the same dustbin that is occupied by VHS and Betamax tapes. Okay, not exactly, but the company did today tell its 24 million subscribers that they no longer can buy both the DVD-by-mail and Internet streaming services for just $10 per month. Also gone is free unlimited streaming for unlimited DVD-only users. Users can purchase each plan separately, but for 60% more than it currently costs. Peter Kafka writes: Netflix explains the rationale for the price hike in a blog post, but the short version is that it would like its DVD customers to move to the Web, or pay up. Doing so helps it cut down on discs costs and/or generate more money to help buy digital titles, which are only going to get more expensive. Wall Street reacted positively to the news, with Netflix shares up 53 cents to a staggering $291.27 per share. The technorati seem a bit more circumspect, particularly given that Netflix is known for having a much deeper DVD library than streaming library. But for real grievance, you need to look to the U.S. Postal Service. It won't publicly complain, of course, but Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said last October that his company spent between $500 million and $600 million on DVD postage. That's approximately 20% of all revenue that the Postal Service booked from first-class "flats" last year, and 1.7% of all first-class mail revenue. Moreover, Netflix increased the number of DVDs mailed to subscribers last year by 9.7%. Had it remained on that pace, it would have been nearing the $660 million mark for 2011. But now one has to assume that Netflix will soon see a decrease in DVD subscribers, thus boosting its own bottom line and taking a bite out of the Postal Service. Get ready for stamps to cost a little bit more... |
