Netflix Is Set To Raise Subscription Prices For The First Time Since October 2020
All good things must come to an end. Remember all the high points you enjoyed together, rather than focusing on the low ones. Who knows, things can always change!
Insert the vaguely comforting cliché of your choice here, because we've unfortunately got some bad news for you. Netflix is once again raising their monthly subscription prices, at least for users in the United States and Canada. If you'll allow me to put on my glass half-full goggles for a moment, this change at least comes after over a year of stability — the last time Netflix announced a price increase was back in October of 2020, when much of the industry felt the effects of the pandemic the most (although one wouldn't necessarily think that economic hardship would apply to Netflix, the one studio best equipped to survive the shutdown of theaters worldwide). At that time, the streaming giant boosted their 4K premium streaming plan by an unsightly $2 while the standard plan "only" increased by $1. If the idea of capitalizing on customers who had little else to turn to during an extended quarantine left a bad taste in your mouth, you're not alone!
In this instance, we can only assume that the higher-ups at Netflix realized they needed to subsidize their recent all-in commitment to a new "Red Notice" franchise somehow, so feel free to blame this on, well, every one of us guilty souls who contributed to the massive viewing totals for the Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Gal Gadot action vehicle. Actions have consequences and very few of us are innocent in this matter!
On a more serious note, check out all the details of this new price hike below, including when subscribers can expect these changes to take effect.
This Is Our 'Not Amused' Face
The Hollywood Reporter brings us the news of Netflix's price increase, which oddly enough comes almost exactly three years to the day since their largest price hike in company history. Thankfully, it's not nearly as dramatic this time around, but subscribers are sure to feel this latest round of bad news in their wallets nonetheless. Those subscribed to the Netflix basic plan — advertised by Netflix (with the new prices already updated, those speedy devils!) as allowing streaming on one screen at a time, though not in HD — can expect the monthly price to go up from $8.99 to $9.99. Standard plans — two screens at a time in HD, but not UHD — have increased slightly more, from $13.99 to $15.49. The premium plans, meanwhile, allow up to four screens at a time in both HD and UHD and have increased to $19.99 a month.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that this development comes with very little forewarning at all, as the changes are set to start rolling in to preexisting subscribers "over the coming weeks" and dependent on each individual's billing cycle, according to the report. New subscribers, however, can expect these changes to take effect immediately. These changes all apply to Canadian subscribers as well, though with the exception that the basic plan pricing remains the same at this time.