On their website, NetFlix advertises: “For only $7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited movies & TV episodes streamed to their TVs and computers.”
Sounds like a sweet deal, until usage-based billing crashed the party. An hour of Netflix works out to be a GB of bandwidth. “Unlimited movies & TV” isn’t so unlimited when your Internet service provider tells you that for every GB you go over your limit, it’ll cost you about CAN $2.
Yes, I can see it, goodbye loonies and toonies, and large bills too – that is unless I curb my Internet consumption.
Woah, Netflix, what are you going to do? Your target market – the tech savvy, internet-embracing consumer – will be watching their internet activity because the perceived benefit of your good just took a major undermining.
The officials say the reason for UBB is to conserve capacity, but Netflix’s (potential) loss is certainly Bell’s gain. Not only will Bell have a greater profit margin on its Internet service, but Canadians will be discouraged from watching TV and videos online. Bell also wins if the viewer ratings on CTV (which it now owns) increases. Will this be the revival of the couch potato that sits in front of the TV and not the computer screen? Advertisers may reconsider purchasing more TV air time to play their commercials.
