Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Netflix CEO calls Americans "Self Absorbed"



Original article here.

Netflix CEO Apologizes For Calling Americans "Self Absorbed"

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings joked yesterday that "Americans are somewhat self-absorbed," so they won't notice that Canada is getting a streaming only option for $7.99. In the U.S. the cheapest deal is $8.99, and it includes DVDs.

Looks like Hastings was half right about his statement. He's right about Americans being self-absorbed -- they apparently can't handle a harmless joke from Hastings. He's wrong about Americans not noticing the better deal, though.

Here's Hastings' statement:

"My Big American Foot is in my mouth. Yesterday, I made an awkward joke with a reporter in Toronto about Americans (like me) being self-absorbed relative to Netflix pricing in Canada. I was wrong to have made the joke, and I do not believe that one of the most philanthropically-minded nations in the world (America) is self-absorbed or full of self-absorbed people. The pricing Netflix is offering in Canada, $7.99 per month, does not include any DVD-by-mail option, and that is why it is cheaper than our $8.99 USA plan which has both DVD-by-mail and streaming in one plan. We are looking at adding a streaming-only option for the USA over the coming months. My apologies to anyone offended by my self-absorbed comment."

We're happy to hear about the cheaper streaming option potentially coming to the US, but there was no need to apologize. It was a JOKE, and funny one at that. Anyone upset over this needs to calm down.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-ceo-apologizes-for-calling-americans-self-absorbed-says-streaming-only-option-could-be-coming-to-us-2010-9#ixzz1S0QNuTUL

1 comment:

  1. I find Mr. Hastings's joke anything but funny. He's showing a blatant disregard for his customers and that is no way to run a business. I work my tail off 40 hrs each week, and am a competent adult in the business world, so I don't appreciate hearing a 'the public be damned' mentality. This isn't the 19th Century, so why are the PTB at Netflix acting like robber barons? Let's see how funny Hastings thinks it is when his business is halved and he's hemmoraging money! Boycott Netflix, I say!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.