Netflix, a media streaming and rental website, launched a new family plan on April 22.

Netflix allows subscribers to watch a variety of television shows and movies.

“There are no commercial interruptions, and I feel like it is a more efficient use of my time compared to watching regular television,” said senior Jennie Lopez.

The new service allows for four simultaneous streams of content at the same time, according to Forbes.com.

This is an upgrade from their $7.99 a month plan, which only allows two simultaneous streams.

The family plan was made for households that share a Netflix account and need more than two simultaneous streams. The new family plan costs $11.99 a month.

This is a great new plan from Netflix because they are finally giving us more options.

Instead of giving their consumers restrictions on streaming, they’re introducing another option to expand their number of streams.

This makes  it easier for families to watch multiple shows at once without having two different Netflix accounts.

“I think it is fantastic. There are four people in my family and we all have our respective laptops that we watch movies and TV on, and now we don’t have to fight which two of us gets to watch,” said junior Amanda Baker.

Freshman Brianna LaCanfora, a Netflix user, was excited to hear of the new plan.

“I love this, due to the fact that I live at home with three other family members who all have different entertainment tastes,” said LaCanfora.

Sophomore Jacob Burman  disagrees and believes that the family plan is an unnecessary ploy to make more money.

“Once again, they’ve made you pay more for what you already had. The product is great, but the business etiquette leaves more to be desired,” said Burman.

I can see where Burman is coming from, but I understand Netflix’s strategy behind adding a new plan.

I can imagine that not  many people will be switching over from the plans they have now, but I think there will still be a few families that will appreciate this new option.

Also, the extra streaming will come in handy when even more electronics become Netflix-friendly.

Many televisions, video game consoles and cell phones are compatible with Netflix. The more accessible Netflix is, the more appealing the family plan will be.

I believe it was good of Netflix to update their plans for their consumers.

It enhances the experience for each kind of family.

Louie DeMetre
Staff Writer
Published May 8, 2013