Here in early 2019, Netflix is raising its prices once again, and the price surge will mark the company's largest streaming subscription increase to date. Netflix is set to raise its plans' rates from 13% to 18%, and subscribers do not have long left before they start feeling it. Here's how it will break down plan by plan.
Those subscribing to Netflix's Basic plan will see their cost go up a dollar. Going up from $8 to $9, per Deadline. The two other most popular plans will see a price bump of $2, with Netflix's HD Standard subscription going from $11 to $13., while the 4K Premium plan will go from $14 to $16. Those living in Latin America and billed in U.S. currency will also be impacted, with Mexico and Brazil among the hike's exceptions, per the report.
So, when can subscribers expect to start having their wallets affected? The price hike will go into action immediately for anyone trying to join for the first time. Existing subscribers will begin seeing the increase as it gets rolled out in stages over the next three months.
For those keeping track of Netflix's financial history, the news will not come as a huge surprise. The company has been undertaking massive debts to pay for its constantly increasing library of content, thus making the need for higher prices a near-necessity. Paying for this ever-expanding content fall onto the shoulders of consumers, and the company has risen its prices regularly as it commissioned more and more projects.
Netflix is also on the verge of even more significant competition in the form of entertainment's most prevalent power -- Disney. Beyond having an ownership stake in Hulu, the entertainment titan is set to launch its new streaming service, Disney+, later this year. Accordingly, Netflix is set to lose the Disney-owned content it streams to the latter's new platform.
Adding to Netflix's stress is the intense competition coming from other pop-up services. Including those from Warner Bros. and potentially NBCUniversal. With other specific studios getting into the game, Netflix stands to lose even more content from its library over the coming years. Hence, the need to create Netflix originals in the future is even more pressing.
In the wake of the announcement of the subscription rate increase, investors showed their enthusiasm. News of the price bump boosted the company's stock quite a bit.
How the stock market responded is good news for Netflix, while some analysts and economists have theorized that Netflix will have major issues coming out from beneath its debt blanket. Despite those concerns, the streaming giant seems to be headed into the future with a bright outlook.
Nielsen recently backed up Netflix's impressive stats for its original film Bird Box, marking some of the positive news that the company has gotten for his high-profile movies. On the TV side of Netflix, fans have no shortage of things to be excited to see in the near future. The outlook for subscribers who share their passwords, and the non-subscribers who use them, may be a lot less optimistic though.
The good news for subscribers is that they will be rewarded for what they pay. Netflix will be going strong throughout 2019 with a lot of new content making its way to the streaming service. So, there is a lot to look forward to in the just-begun year.
