Netflix hikes prices again for people who want both streaming content and physical DVDs

Seemingly intent on phasing out of the physical distribution of DVDs and sloughing off those silver discs like so many dead scales, Netflix has announced that it intends to hike prices for customers who cling to that antiquated system, significantly raising the rate for its popular streaming video plus one-disc plan. Signs of that transition first emerged back in November, when it was decided that subscribers would be able to have access to both for just $9.99. According to a press release, that’s now been restructured to force users to choose either the $7.99 unlimited Watch Instantly package or $7.99 for one DVD at a time. Although, maybe “force” is a strong word. Let’s say “strongly encourage,” as you’re certainly welcome to hang onto both if you wish. It’s just that to do so, you’ll have to pay $15.98 a month for the privilege. The change begins immediately for new subscribers and will take effect for current subscribers on September 1, at which point you’ll be forced to make a difficult decision (including whether to dump Netflix altogether). It’s sort of like the movie Sophie’s Choice, which you won’t be able to watch if you pick the streaming-only plan.