Netflix hikes prices on standard and premium plans

[David Matthews]

Netflix will once again raise prices on its services starting next month according to a report from Mashable. Prices will increase by one dollar from $9.99 to $10.99 for the standard plan and from $12.99 to $13.99 for the premium plan. The basic plan will remain the same at $7.99.

The standard plan is by far the most popular and will probably affect the most people. That said, a dollar increase in the plans is unlikely to cause much consternation among most Netflix subscribers. Subscribers will start receiving notifications about the increase starting October 19th and given about a 30-day notice before the change.

Netflix released a statement about the price increase: "From time to time, Netflix plans and pricing are adjusted as we add more exclusive TV shows and movies, introduce new product features and improve the overall Netflix experience to help members find something great to watch even faster."

That statement seems to prove true as Netflix has been adding an incredible amount of original content, some of which have earned Netflix accolades such as Emmys, Golden Globes, and at least one Oscar. Shows such as Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and House of Cards have rocketed to popularity. Marvel has seemingly struck gold with their smaller scale MCU expansions such as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders. This is even more impressive considering that despite the price hike, Netflix is still cheaper than HBO and Hulu's commercial free plan.

During the last major price hike in 2014, Netflix allowed grandfathered subscribers to keep their $7.99 plan until 2016. This year is not as forgiving as Netflix intends to force every subscriber to be on the new pricing scale by December.

That money will surely be put to good use as Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos plans to spend upwards of $7 billion on original series, comedy specials, documentaries, and films. The company seems stronger than ever and if it can continue pumping out hits (despite its spotty net neutrality positions), most people probably won't mind a small price hike.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/71279-netflix-hikes-prices-standard-premium-plans.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Sounds reasonable ..... wonder how many others besides Disney will abandon them?

 

[Polycount]

I'm pretty okay with this change, frankly. I understand if this turns off some particularly frugal individuals, but Netflix has been offering some pretty fantastic content lately. If that extra $1/month helps them to do that even more, I'm all for it.

 

[EClyde]

I want to watch Father Knows Best, Have Gun Will Travel, Leave it to Beaver you know shows that have no basis in what life was like in the 50's. Unlike all the shows today which are absolutely grounded in reality...if you are doing LSD

 

[senketsu]

Still one of the most amazing bargains available.

 

[RedGuard]

Bah, I still have to pay for TV to have internet access and then I have to pay for Netflix as well.

Not to mention the atrocious quality of the latest Star trek episodes. And nobody seems to notice... It's ironic. All those posts about how Netflix is encoding content and how hard their engineers are working. I did better encodings when I was in highschool.

 

[Jackwoz]

I quite like the new star trek..

 

[ghostf1re]

I quite like the new star trek..

I didn't even know there was a new Star Trek.

 

[GreenNova343]

If your provider is forcing you to get TV service in order to get Internet, you're doing it wrong.

Seriously, though, I suppose it might depend on where you live. But in the US, pretty much providers can offer bundled services (usually by suckering you in with a reduced rate for a year, but you have to sign a contract to stick with them for 2 or more years), but they have to also allow you to purchase the services individually if you so choose. You may not get an introductory deal with it, but the option is there.

 

[Joe Seijo]

I use my friend's account, so it doesn't matter to me.

 

[kissx]

I'm ok with it . Netflix keeps get better and better!