Why Netflix and Other Streaming Services Are Raising Prices Now

After two years of record-setting quarantine-driven binge watching, why would streaming services like Netflix feel the need to raise prices?

Because the proliferation of such services - Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, etc - have made it harder to add new subscribers, making price increases the best way to raise revenues. And it has learned over the years that subscribers rarely cancel over minimal price increases. JL 

Jacob Kastrenakes reports in The Verge:

Netflix has a wealth of subscribers across the US, and adding more is a challenge — making price hikes an obvious answer for how it can make more money. At the same time, Netflix is now competing with several other serious streaming services for attention, including Disney Plus and HBO Max, and it’s been spending big on content to keep up. Netflix is raising prices across all of its plans in the US. The standard plan will rise to $15.50 per month from $14, while the 4K plan will rise to $20 per month from $18. The basic plan is rising to $10 per month from $9.

Netflix is raising prices across all of its plans in the US today. The company’s standard plan will rise to $15.50 per month from $14, while the 4K plan will rise to $20 per month from $18. The basic plan, which doesn’t include HD, is also rising to $10 per month from $9. Prices are rising in Canada as well.

The price hikes go into effect immediately for new subscribers. For existing subscribers, the changes will be rolled out “gradually,” with Netflix promising to email members 30 days before the price hike goes into effect.

Prices for a Netflix plan have steadily gone up in recent years. The standard plan went to $14 per month from $13 in late 2020, after previously rising to $13 from from $11 in 2019. Prior to that, Netflix raised prices in 2017 and 2015. When Netflix announced its first wide-scale price increase in 2014, the company was so worried about losing subscribers over a $1 per month bump that it let existing members keep their price for two years. It hasn’t offered such a generous perk in the years since.

NETFLIX PRICE HIKES

Price	Jan 2022	Oct 2020	Jan 2019	Oct 2017	Oct 2015	Apr 2014	Apr 2013	2011
Premium (4K, 4 screens)	$19.99	$17.99	$15.99	$13.99	$11.99	$11.99	$11.99	N/A
Standard (HD, 2 screens)	$15.49	$13.99	$12.99	$10.99	$9.99	$8.99	$7.99	$7.99
Basic (No HD, 1 screen)	$9.99	$8.99	$8.99	$7.99	$7.99	$7.99	N/A	N/A

The price hikes come during a successful but challenging moment for Netflix. The company already has a wealth of subscribers across the US, and adding more is a challenge — making price hikes an obvious answer for how it can make more money. At the same time, Netflix is now competing with several other serious streaming services for attention, including Disney Plus and HBO Max, and it’s been spending big on content to keep up.

“We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options,” a Netflix spokesperson told Reuters. “As always we offer a range of plans so members can pick a price that works for their budget.”

Netflix isn’t the only service that’s been raising prices lately. Hulu hiked the price of its ad-supported and ad-free tiers by $1 per month in October.