Possible alternatives for scorned Netflix refugees

MONEY-SAVING MOMENT: Are you a Netflix refugee who fired the streaming video provider after their recent price hike and separation into two companies? You have alternatives. There are a couple of services that are getting more robust with content that could serve as your Netflix replacement.

First up, you have a new offering from Dish Network. Dish now owns the remains of Blockbuster and will offer its subscribers the Blockbuster Movie Pass, which allows you to get DVDs and video games through the mail, or to stream TV shows and movies for an additional fee of $10 a month on top of your existing Dish bill — though it does not have a big library like Netflix.

My guess is that people will be tempted to get rid of a premium movie channel, lower the cost of their bill and then add the $10 Blockbuster Movie Pass so they can have up-to-the moment games and DVDs and the on-demand streaming.

Another alternative is an Amazon offer. Amazon has its own streaming capability that it just gives away as a freebie to Amazon Prime members. If you order regularly, Amazon Prime allows you to get free two-day shipping on most online purchases with no minimum order size. The cost? $79 annually.

Now Amazon has signed a new streaming deal that will bring the size of their library, they say, to roughly what Netflix offered. So if you order from Amazon anyway, you get the streaming thrown in for free, eliminating the need to pay Netflix $96 each year.

I love that the free market comes to the rescue. Netflix had a near monopoly on DVDs in the mail and streaming, but now that’s over. Look at these alternate options and see if they could work for you.