Basic Math Shows Why Netflix Should Shut Up About Redbox

Netflix, wow…even they’re starting to feel threatened by the Redbox video kiosks.  And frankly, I don’t know why, not for the life of me.

See, apparently, Netflix believes that the one dollar rental “devalues the content ecosystem”, which is a fancy way of saying “makes people think they can pay less for stuff which in turn drives them to actually DO pay less for stuff and break it off in our collective tukhus.”  Which is an absolute JOKE as illustrated by the equation I’m about to show you:

Netflix charges about twenty four bucks ($23.99) for its four at a time unlimited plan.  Now, let’s assume a thirty day month that has no annoying postal holidays in it (Columbus Day my ENTIRE ass.  NOBODY gets that day off.) and start it up.  Also assume the first day of this hypothetical month is a Monday, and there are six mailing days in a week. Assume further that I keep up that constant flow of watch and return (I work nights, or from home, or I’m unemployed.) every day.

I get my first four movies on the first, watch two of them that afternoon and get them back in the mailbox before the end of the day, and then watch the second two later that night, to put them in the mail the next day.  I don’t get any movies on that Tuesday, but I get a set of two on Wednesday, and a set of two on Thursday, and so on.  Now, what that means is that I basically get two movies a day, every day, for twenty four days in the month, a total of forty eight movies, for which I paid twenty four bucks for the month to rent them.

Getting the picture?  Now, I’m no mathematician…but it sure looks like my total per-title Netflix cost is FIFTY CENTS A MOVIE.  If I stream any titles in the month the cost picture buckles even further. Even if you cut that figure in HALF, and I only get a cycle going of ONE movie per day–not hard with a four-max–then suddenly Netflix MATCHES Redbox!

And they’re whining about Redbox devaluing the content ecosystem?