Netflix Prices Are Going Up

Back in January, Netflix announced that it would be raising prices across each of its plan options. As part of a gradual rollout, that price increase is taking effect for many subscribers, with subscribers set to see the new, increased prices reflected in their next billing cycle.

According to CNN Business, emails went out to some U.S. subscribers this week to remind them that the price increase is taking effect and to expect to see those higher rates on their next bill. The standard plan, which previously cost $10.99 per month, has been increased to $12.99 per month, a hike of 18 percent. Additionally, the Basic Plan offered by the streaming service, which allows users to watch in standard definition on just one screen at a time, is going from $7.99 to $8.99. The Premium Plan is going from $13.99 up to $15.99.

When the price increase was announced earlier this year, it was set up that new subscribers would see these increased prices immediately while existing subscribers would see their costs rise in the rollout based on their billing cycle. The increased prices have been rolling out since announcement in January based on their billing cycle which means that currently, there are subscribers who will be getting the rate increase with their May bill, while for others the rate increase has already been effect.

This is the first price change for Netflix since the end of 2017. At that time, the hike in price wasn’t seen as too big of a deal in the eyes of users, as the company faced minimal cancellations. What remains to be seen is how subscribers will react to this new change. With streaming services popping up left and right, and major players like Disney+ set to arrive later this year and Apple having just announced their own service, this could be the time that a significant number of users decide to jump off the bandwagon.

Netflix, however, is hoping that subscribers will stick around even with the price increase and to that effect has been heavily investing in original content. It’s a move that has seen Netflix have some major success — it took home three Academy Awards for Roma in February as well as an impressive Emmys haul of 23, tying with HBO last year for a record number of wins.

With the focus on original content, the Netflix price hike may not be something subscribers are thrilled with — especially with the recent cancellations of several popular series, including Daredevil and the rest of its Marvel television originals — but it also isn’t a surprise. As of September 30th, Netflix was reporting $8.34 billion in long-term debt, which was up from $6.50 billion in 2017. Netflix continues spending massive amounts of money on content, so the company needed to find a way to offset those costs. A price increase is simply part of that.

Is your Netflix rate going up? Let us know how you feel about it in the comments below.