Netflix making some Blu-ray renters wait long durations

Netflix subscribers were originally happy to hear the online rental service would begin to offer Blu-ray movie titles, but that happiness has now turned to dismay over the lengthy wait for Blu-ray titles.

An article posted on CNET indicates at least two editors on the site have had movies in their queue for long durations.  According to Netflix spokespeople, Hollywood simply isn’t releasing enough Blu-ray copies of smash hit movies — which means Netflix has a harder time keeping a high quantity of movies in the pipeline.

"There is an expense to that," Swasey told CNET.  "These things cost money.  We deploy money where we think it’s going to be most efficient to keep subscribers and investors happy.  It’s always check and balances."

If you’re a frequent renter, get ready to wait even longer for your movies, according to Netflix:

"What we’re doing is giving new releases to the person who hasn’t rented as much," Swasey told CNET.  "We’ve been doing this for a couple of years and fully disclose this in our terms of agreement. If we have a shortage of titles we do what we think is equitable and give the title to the person who hasn’t rented as much or who hasn’t gotten as much enjoyment from the service."

Netflix Blu-ray subscribers must pay an additional $1 per month to rent Blu-ray titles, though movie queues are long and movies take longer to arrive.  There are only about 500,000 out of almost 9 million subscribers currently renting Blu-ray movies.

TV Predictions is so upset about this issue that the site is urging current Netflix subscribers to dump the service as soon as possible.

"I urge everyone to dump Netflix ASAP and sign up with Blockbuster’s online service. Thus far, Blockbuster has been terrific, delivering almost every new release promptly."