Netflix has announced another price hike across several countries, including the US and the UK. And it will soon be happening in India within the next few months.
It all started as Netflix’s plan to reaffirm its position in the market, which was under threat as users shared passwords with each other. A family of four would give access to 16 of their friends and so on. To crack down on such password-sharers, Netflix restricted password-sharing earlier this year.
It was believed password sharing restrictions would bother the consumer, but on the contrary, the streamer has said that the decision has paid off in the long run as it added 8.8 million new subscribers. Currently, Netflix has a total of 247.15 million members, a huge jump from 238 million in July.
Now, Netflix is moving to the next stage in its plan to dominate the market. The company has already increased the prices of Basic and Premium tier plans in the US, the UK, and France.
“As we deliver more value to our members, we occasionally ask them to pay a bit more,” Netflix said, according to a report by The Verge.
“Our starting price is extremely competitive with other streamers and at $6.99 per month in the US, for example, it’s much less than the average price of a single movie ticket,” it said.
Interestingly, Netflix is not the only platform to have increased subscription prices. Disney+ and Max have also raised their costs to curb financial losses. Disney+ also restricted account sharing to motivate users to buy subscriptions.
Netflix had last increased its price in January 2022 when it raised the rates by $1 to $2 monthly. It is a similar increase this time too.
In July, Netflix had also removed access to the Basic ad-free subscription plan in the US and the UK. To enjoy an ad-free watching experience, subscribers were asked to opt for the $15.49 (about Rs. 1,290) plan, or silently sit through the repetitive ads.
Now, with the price bump, the Basic plan, with ads, has gone from $9.99 (about Rs. 832) to $11.99 (about Rs. 998) in the US.
The Premium plan, with access to 4K Ultra HD visuals on up to four devices at a time, is going up from $19.99 (about Rs. 1,664) to $22.99 (about Rs. 1,914). There has been no change in the Standard plan prices.
According to the report, Netflix will be removing the Basic plan in Germany, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Japan, next week.
The Basic plan in the UK has gone from GBP 6.99 (about Rs. 705) to GBP 7.99 (about Rs. 807), whereas the Premium now costs GBP 17.99 (about Rs. 1,816), compared to GBP 15.99 (about Rs. 1,614) earlier. Customers in France will see the Basic plan move up to EUR 10.99 (about Rs. 964) and the Premium plan to EUR 19.99 (about Rs. 1,753).