sMoRTy71.com: Netflix is throttling me...

Netflix is throttling me...
and now I have proof! I've long speculated that Netflix has adjusted my "unlimited" service based on both my length of membership and my rental activity; however, it has been difficult to prove.

For example, when I first joined, movies would ship out the same day and arrive the next business day. As my membership has gone on and my rental volume has stayed pretty high, I've noticed a pretty dramatic drop in the level of service I receive. In addition to "Shipping tomorrow" being the norm for items placed in my Queue, they've started to ship movies from Denver even though we have a NF facility here. Of course, shipping from Denver slows down the turnaround time and reduces the number of rentals I can get in a month.

Recently, my co-worker Bryan joined the service. As a test, I asked him to add a movie to his queue. See, I have had "The Pacifier" at the top of my Queue (for my kids, not me) since before it was released. And since the day it was released (over 2 weeks ago), my Queue says "Very long wait." Kind of hard to believe for a movie like "The Pacifier."

So when brand new customer Bryan adds "The Pacifier" to his Queue, guess what it says? Come on, guess! COME ON! That's right, it said "Now," meaning that it was available right away.

Hmm. Isn't that curious? Netflix supporters often dismiss the idea of throttling and say that it has more to do with the capacity of the shipping centers (i.e. they can only ship so many discs per day, so often they can tell you early the previous day that your movie will have to ship tomorrow). However, this has nothing to do with capacity. After all, I'm not being told "Shipping tomorrow," I'm being told "Very long wait."

How can it be available for Bryan "Now" and I have a "Very long wait?" After all, we're both in the same city and use the same distribution facility. The only explanation is that Bryan is getting priority based on his length of service and his rental volume.

Limiting unlimited services got some of the telcos in hot water a few years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix finds itself in the same predicament.