“I Messed Up”– Reed Hastings, CEO and Co-Founder, Netflix

Realizing how annoyed people have become because of the changes that they made, Reed Hastings, CEO and Co-Founder of Netflix yesterday admitted, through a blog post, that they messed up the handling of its DVD and streaming business.

“I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation. It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. I’ll try to explain how this happened.”

He went on to explain and justify why Netflix decided to separate its DVD and streaming business, which went on with the prices changes. He stressed that the two are separate businesses with two groups of people– one that appreciates the breadth of their DVD offerings and another one that appreciates their streaming.

To further stress the separation of its DVD and streaming business, Hastings announced that they will be renaming their DVD service to “Qwikster” which should reflect quick delivery of DVDs. The company’s streaming business will take on the name “Netflix.” Andy Rendich will be the CEO of Qwikster.

Not contented with the blog post from Hastings? Here’s the apology and an introduction of Rendich on video.

There is really nothing new here except for the apology and the separate brand for the DVD business. There will be no roll-back of prices. We all know why Hastings is so sorry. Here’s why.