Is your Netflix subscription price about to rise?
Netflix is to increase its prices in several countries after reportedly gaining nearly 19 million subscribers during its last quarter.
The streaming giant confirmed price hikes in the US, Canada, Argentina and Portugal.
On whether price rises could soon be made in the UK, a Netflix spokesperson said there is “nothing to share as of yet”.
Yet John Hodulik’s UBS analysts wrote in February 2024: “We expect to see rate increases this year”, reported Variety.
While UK subscribers have avoided these tax hikes for now, the possibility remains that future increases could be on the horizon.
This news comes after Amazon Prime UK hiked its own prices at the beginning of 2024, where its ad-free costs went from £8.99 to £11.98 a month.
Similarly, Disney+ UK raised its prices in October 2024 on its ad-free standard and premium plans, by up to £24 a year.
Currently, Netflix in the UK charges £10.99 a month for its standard membership, and £17.99 monthly for premium subscriptions.
When the website launched in 2012, Netflix charged £5.99 for a membership.
Prices have increased incrementally since. In the UK, the last price hike was in 2023, when the basic plan increased from £6.99 to £7.99 a month, and the premium plan increased £2 to £17.99.
For American users, the price of the advert-free standard plan will increase from $15.49 (£12.55) to $17.99 (£14.60) a month.
The advert-supported plan will also increase by $1, to $7.99 (£6.47).
Netflix last raised prices in the US in October 2023, an announcement which had included some UK plans.
These price adjustments come as Netflix expands its programming slate, which executives said justifies the increases to “reinvest in operating the platform”.
Its fourth quarter was boosted by high profile series such as Squid Game’s second season, two NFL games over Christmas, and live sports, including a Mike Tyson boxing match.
This morning’s trading update reported that revenue jumped from $8.8bn (£7.1bn) to $10.2bn (£8.2bn).
The company closed 2024 with over 300 million global subscribers, with its net profit doubling year-on-year to $1.8bn (£1.45bn) between October and December.
Trading was over 13 per cent in early trading on Wednesday to $980.8 (£795.5) per share.