Last month Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had hinted that a price bump for new subscribers would soon be on the way. Ever since the service was launched back in 2011 the basic streaming plan has cost subscribers in the U.S. $7.99 per month. This gives them a month’s access to all content in Netflix’s library. Now though the company has raised prices for the first time since 2011. The new Netflix subscription fee is $8.99 per month.
Granted that its only a $1 per month increase but its essential for Netflix as it continues to grow and battle against competition from rivals. Unlike Hulu which also subjects subscribers to ads in the premium Hulu Plus service Netflix uses an ad-free model. Though one can argue that Hulu needs the additional revenue to pay for fresher content, particularly current episodes of TV shows, but that’s an entirely different debate.
The Netflix subscription fee has also been raised in the UK and Europe by £1 and €1 respectively. A company spokesperson said that this will allow it to add more movies and TV shows as well as deliver “a great streaming experience.” Netflix is one of the first online video streaming companies that’s letting subscribers stream content in 4K.
Even last month the company has said that the price increase wouldn’t affect existing subscribers for a “generous” period of time. It has now confirmed that all existing subscribers will continue to pay $7.99 per month for two years.
Netflix has also introduced a new plan which allows streaming of all content on one screen for $7.99, albeit not in HD. It would be hard to argue that paying an extra dollar isn’t worth it when HD screens are quite literally everywhere.
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