First reported by Stop the Cap and later confirmed in Mashable's own tests, it looked like Netflix was finally enforcing its concurrent streaming policy, which according to its terms of service, limits streaming-only customers to one stream at a time. Additional streams are available to users that pay more per month.
Netflix's spokesman Steve Swasey responded to Time via email, noting that "no Netflix member is limited to less than two concurrent streams. A few Netflix members have heard differently from us, which is an error that we are correcting."
When Mashable's Ben Parr was researching the issue yesterday, he found that while movie streams were limited to one per account, he was successfully able to concurrently stream more than one TV show at once. That gives credence to Netflix's claim that this was just an unexpected glitch.
My Netflix plan allows me to stream on two devices at once, but in my own rudimentary tests, I was able to successfully stream content on my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and via a Roku player simultaneously.
Crisis averted -- for now. Netflix has had a rough few months. Last week, one of the company's premier content partners, Starz, announced that it had ended renewal discussions with the subscription streaming giant. To compound issues, this news came the same day that Netflix's price increases went into effect. Meanwhile, reports indicate that Dish Network is planning to launch its own Netflix competitor in October.
BONUS: Chronicling Netflix's Downturn, July to October 2011