# Netflix price hike and Qwikster

> Netflix's Qwikster apology drew more than 10,000 blog commenters.

- Owner: Netflix
- Kind: Moment
- Sector: Media & publishing
- Seed date: 2011-07-12
- Peak proxy date: Week of Sep 19, 2011
- Date basis: Proxy date; not a directly measured attention peak. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 42 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Controversy, Response chain, Platform jump, Press loop, Pairing

## Summary

Netflix's price announcement drew forum complaints, Facebook replies and Dear Netflix jokes. Its Qwikster apology renewed the backlash and drew an SNL parody. Netflix reversed the split, kept the prices and reported a net US subscriber loss.

## Timeline

- 2011-07-12 — Netflix (Open web) — Netflix separated DVD and streaming plans, pricing the combination at $15.98 a month.
- 2011-07-12 — evanw (Open web) — evanw called the removal of the combined plan bad news in a Hacker News comment.
- 2011-07-12 — Netflix customers (Facebook) — Customers posted more than 10,000 Facebook responses by the evening of Netflix's announcement.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/netflix-qwikster

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Netflix price hike and Qwikster.” Case HIS-01572. Spread Score v1.3: 42/100. Updated 2026-10-23. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01572