Screw you, Phantom Menace!

Netflix seemed unstoppable.  Their competitors were cowering at their feet as other models of movie rental struggled to survive, even attempting to unsuccessfully emulate the red and black gargantuan (RIP Blockbuster.)  Netflix even announced a substantial increase to their pricing structure and their users just shrugged it off and even took to the internet to make fun of people that complained about the increase.  But today marks the first major speed bump in Netflix’s rise to world domination: Starz is packing their bags at the end of the year and leaving!

Starz has been available on Netflix for a long time, giving people the chance to watch amazing shows like Spartacus, and movies like Toy Story 3.  I know that in my personal movie watching forays into Netflix Instant, the Starz logo popping up before the movie starts became commonplace.  While it’s hard to say if this change is going to have a big impact on Netflix’s offerings, it certainly can’t help, especially when it comes just as the first increase in many people’s monthly cost for Netflix goes up.