Will the Netflix mea culpa work?

The DVD-and-streaming company’s CEO offered an apology along with the announcement that DVD rentals were breaking off into their own brand, Qwikster.

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“Qwikster” was a trending topic on Twitter Monday, and it had nothing to do with the marijuana enthusiast who holds that Twitter username.

It’s the new name for Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service, which is making a clean break from the Netflix brand. “We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery,” Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings wrote in a blog post. “We will keep the name ‘Netflix’ for streaming.”

In July, to considerable customer outrage, Netflix announced the split between its DVD and streaming services. Many customers read the initial announcement as simply a price hike and quit the service, leading to a stock price drop of about 19 percent.

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