Throttling Back on Netflix

An AP article has appeared (here it is in the Globe) that discusses Netflix's policy of penalizing heavy users using a technique called throttling, which gives priority to the light Netflix users who generate the most profits for the company. This is not news for most Netflix users. In fact, the article links to a 2003 informal side-by-side comparison of a heavy use account with a new account that I remember reading when it was new. A little over a year ago a settlement was reached, and Netflix changed its terms of use to disclose the practice of throttling in January of 2005. Evidently the settlement may be revised:

Without acknowledging wrongdoing, the company agreed to provide a one-month rental upgrade and pay Chavez's attorneys $2.5 million, but the settlement sparked protests that prompted the two sides to reconsider. A hearing on a revised settlement proposal is scheduled for Feb. 22 in San Francisco Superior Court. (From the AP article)

The article does not mention who the protesters are, or what, exactly, they are protesting.

Interestingly, the AP article also cites what it calls an "online forum" for "incensed [Netflix] customers" called Hacking Netflix, which posted the following in response to the article:

Netflix and Blockbuster Online are both incredible values, even if they "throttle" or have movie allocation problems from time to time. I now have access to more than 50,000 titles from each company, and I typically pay less than $2 per online rental vs. $4.99 at my local video store. Both companies have gone through "growing pains," but they still save me time and money (I subscribe to both).

The comments to this post are all over the map, including some by people who agree, and some by people who are clearly incensed (with a healthy number who obviously fall into the "lowest common denominator" category).

I was a very heavy Netflix user for a time and was frustrated that I was unable to get any of the titles at the top of my queue. This was before Netflix's disclosure, and there was a conspiratorial ring to the idea of Netflix throttling heavy users. Lately, largely due to my relatively recent acquisition of digital cable, I have been using Netflix a little less, and all the titles in my queue have been available. I suppose if I do become a heavy user again, I'll set up an account with Blockbuster and play the two services against each other in order to increase my chances of having the films I want available.