[dave5104]

I've always thought that Netflix was in a tough spot when it comes to cutting consumers off, because (1) they'd be losing money, and (2) they'd need to responsibly refund those consumers or else they'll look terrible.

However, TV networks cut off access to cable provider customers when they can't reach a deal on price... so why can't Netflix do the same? I mean, if ISPs really want to turn the Internet into a cable-like place, they should expect that similar disputes are going to happen.

[mbreese]

You know... that's not a bad idea. So long as they refund (or more likely extend) the accounts for people accessing Netflix from those ISPs.

Or, maybe Netflix should intentionally limit the number of people that could access their service from a given ISP so that the overall quality is maintained? If you try to access the service and you get denied for ISP capacity reasons, then you'd get that day refunded.

They need to do something to make sure that the customer knows where the problem is. But, instead of playing too rough, I think publicly shaming the ISPs is the best approach. At least for now.

[codyb]

Something akin to the cable companies cutting channels until deals are met might be blocking certain shows only (netflix originals for instance). As long as there was a warning when you signed up I suppose (certain networks may not be able to stream netflix originals).