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apatosaurusA few weeks back, we posted some comments by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in which he said the following about the future of the DVD format:

“There will be people doing DVD-by-mail in 15 or 20 years, so I think DVD will last a long time. Our best guess is that DVD will peak for us in 5 or so years. But it is continuing to grow.”

In an interview with the Motley Fool this week, however, Hastings shortened his estimate of DVD’s remaining time  as Netflix’s “primary delivery format” to two years. Hastings went on to reaffirm statements that he has made earlier that DVD would stick around in some form for at least a decade or more.

Hastings didn’t clearly state which format would become Netflix’s new dominant delivery method, but the company has continued to ramp up the number of titles it has available for streaming and on Blu-ray discs.

Shifting topics, Hastings also interestingly stated that the two most popular monthly plans among Netflix subscribers are the $8.99 and $ 13.99 plans, which allow one and two movies out at a time, respectively.

Let us know what you think about Hastings’ departure from his earlier prediction about the DVD format’s longevity. Just semantics, or is there more to it than that? Do you think he’s offering a peek into changing studio attitudes towards alternative methods like streaming?

[via The Motley FoolYahoo Tech and Video Business]

10 Responses to “Netflix CEO: DVD Has Two Years Left as Primary Format”

  1. Visitor [Join Now]
    Wesley [visitor]

    I don’t see why both statements can’t be true. If streaming takes off, it could surpass DVDs in 2 years, and then for 3 more years DVDs could slowly rise and peak out in 3 more years (5 years from now).

    • Visitor [Join Now]
      missmissy82 [visitor]

      i would say 60% of the stream movies with netflix are pretty good and 80% of the quality is good. The quality is better with newer and bigger titles (starz thing). I’d say they stream stuff that i wouldnt usually watch or already saw or stuff i wouldnt usually see or older movies. But with red box monday codes i see movies i’d never usually rent. but its nice to always have a tv show ready, comedy show, movie, work out video… ect. I like both netflix (new releases when i want for a buck) or older movies (sent to my house). What redbox needs to do is 1.00 per stream over the net. The down flaw would be the quality isnt as great and you get 24 hour or one view. That would be so sweet and maybe worth more than a buck. It’s like ppv but cheaper because its stream over the net.

      • Visitor [Join Now]
        shana [visitor]

        missmissy82 the fact that u can even get in to redbox amazes me. this is a service that is putting people out of work & businesses are going under. the redbox is put in stores that DO NOT NEED THIS REVENUE i.e: walmart, kroegers(qfc), walgreens, etc. if u care @ all about your community y not support small independent videostores???????

        • Visitor [Join Now]
          Carson [visitor]

          Because they are more expensive. The company that can provide the same service cheaper, wins. If you can’t do it just as cheaper, you should change to another industry. Its called capitalism and its the American way. How do you think we grew into this great country? By supporting businesses that have no innovation to operate more efficiently?

        • Visitor [Join Now]
          Sean [visitor]

          Most of them are already gone. There are none where I live in SLC.

    • Visitor [Join Now]
      missmissy82 [visitor]

      i would say 60% of the stream movies with netflix are pretty good and 80% of the quality is good. The quality is better with newer and bigger titles (starz thing). I’d say they stream stuff that i wouldnt usually watch or already saw or stuff i wouldnt usually see or older movies. But with red box monday codes i see movies i’d never usually rent. but its nice to always have a tv show ready, comedy show, movie, work out video… ect. I like both netflix (new releases when i want for a buck) or older movies (sent to my house). What redbox needs to do is 1.00 per stream over the net. The down flaw would be the quality isnt as great and you get 24 hour or one view. That would be so sweet and maybe worth more than a buck. It’s like ppv but cheaper because its stream over the net.

  2. Member [Join Now]
    alans613

    I think the DVD has quite a life ahead of it. For one, most folks have replaced their VHS collection with DVDs and probably don’t have the cash in this economy to buy their collection on Blu-Ray once again as they replaced their VHS tapes with DVDs.

  3. Member [Join Now]
    lakrow [jbromert]

    There’s also the fact that when people moved from VHS to DVD they didn’t need to buy a new TV. I don’t see any point in moving to Bluray until I have a HDTV because there won’t be any improvement in picture quality. I think a lot of people can’t currently afford a decent HDTV – one of the size and quality to do Bluray justice. This is a little like the switch over from B&W TVs to color and B&W TVs stuck around for quite a while.

  4. Visitor [Join Now]
    Hugh Manity [visitor]

    I’ve been a Netflix member for years, long before instant viewing. I used to really like watching movies on my computer, but ever since they “upgraded” to Silverlight it’s intolerable. The video tearing renders movies unwatchable. If Netflix has any plans of dropping dvd’s through the mail, and putting all of their eggs in the Silverlight basket, then I say Netflix has about 2 years to go.