Netflix could be considering a cheaper, streaming-only plan for U.S. subscribers. Currently if you want access to the Netflix streaming service you have to have a more expensive subscription that includes getting media sent to you through the mail even if you don"t want it or won"t ever use it. Netflix has already started a similar plan in Canada with unlimited streaming for only $7.99.
To make the streaming service more attractive Netflix recently made a deal with NBC Universal to increase content available online. Some of the shows included in the deal will be Battlestar Galactica, Eureka and The Office according to the SFGate.
Douglas Anmuth, an equity analyst for Barclays Capital wrote the following in a research note to investors, "A cheaper subscription plan could be more attractive to new (subscribers) and it would also likely carry higher gross margins and potentially even higher gross profit (over time), given the extremely low cost of delivering streaming content."
According to Netflix they currently have 15 million subscribers and of those subscribes 61% use the Netflix streaming service. The number of streaming users continues to rise, the first quarter of this year 51% of Netflix subscribers used the streaming service while this same quarter last year only 37% of subscribers use the streaming service. Netflix classified streamers as users that spent more than 15 minutes using the service.