Netflix’s price increase last year rather infuriated some of their patrons.  Many thought that the $16/month charge for both streaming and DVD rental was too much, and some even threatened to leave.  But what angered them the most is the fact that the DVD-rental-only plan was removed all together.  Though most of Netflix subscribers chose to stick around, many subscribing to the streaming service only, people still long for the tangibility of DVDs.

Renters won’t have to suffer longer as Netflix announced the comeback of their DVD-rental-only plan for $7.99.

Santosh Hegde, Netflix’s Director of DVD Engineering, made the announcement yesterday.

“Starting today, our DVD and Blu-Ray loving audience can now easily sign up for a DVD only plan.  Starting at just $7.99/month, you can enjoy around 100,000 titles on DVD.”
“We are also offering a 1 month free trial for eligible customers.”

The HBO Way

Video streaming has come a long way, but cable TV has gone farther with their production of original shows.  HBO gave us critically acclaimed shows like The Sopranos, Sex and The City, Boardwalk Empire and more.  And that’s what people are looking for.  So that’s what Netflix and Hulu are giving them.

Netflix launched their original series, “Lilyhammer,” a fish-out-of-water drama about a New York mobster who relocated to Norway, last February 6 and Hulu debuted “Battleground,” a faux-documentary sitcom about the young operatives of a middling political campaign in Wisconsin.

But critics aren’t seeing this effort as fruitful, since they don’t see Netflix and Hulu as players ready for an exclusive content play.

“Lilyhammer’ should be considered an experiment for Netflix,” said Arvind Bhatia, an analyst with Sterne, Agee & Leach. “I understand why the company wants to have exclusive content, but ultimately I don’t really see Netflix as a content company.”

Still, this could be a game-changer for both Netflix and Hulu, especially if what they produce is worth watching.

Speaking of Hulu, since more households added Nintendo Wii to their home entertainment systems, Hulu and Nintendo jointly announced the arrival of Hulu Plus on the Wii for $7.99 a month.

“We want to be everywhere, on every screen where people want to watch their favorite shows and discover new ones on their own schedule. Wii is not only one of the most important entertainment devices in the living room, but one of the most heavily anticipated and requested platforms by users and subscribers. Teaming up with Nintendo gives millions of households across the U.S. an immediate way to access some of their favorite current season shows on-demand in their living room through Hulu Plus,” said Pete Distad, VP of Marketing and Distribution at Hulu.