NEW YORK (AP) – Netflix is raising prices for its video streaming customers in the United States (US) and Canada, less than a year and a half since its last price increase, as competition from other streaming services increases.
The Los Gatos, California, company said on Friday that prices are going up by USD1 to USD2, depending on the plan.
The “standard” plan that most people take is increasing by USD1.50, to USD15.50. The Canadian version is going up by the same amount in local currency, to CAD16.50.
Price increases are becoming more of a regular feature at Netflix, which is facing saturation in the US market. Of Netflix’s 213.5 million subscribers, some 74 million are in the US and Canada.
It got an influx of global subscribers early in the pandemic, but is investing in video games as it looks beyond movies and TV for growth.
In the US, Netflix’s most expensive plan is increasing by USD2, to USD20; its basic plan is up USD1, to USD10. The plans vary based on variables like the number of screens users can watch Netflix on at the same time and the number of phones or tablets that can have downloads. The company still mails out DVDs in a service that requires a separate plan.
The price increase is effective as of Friday. Netflix will tell customers by email and inside the Netflix app before the new price is applied to them. Customers in New York, Alabama and Louisiana also got hit with a new local sales tax bill, which Netflix said was because of the addition of video games to the service.
Raising prices carries the risk that people will cancel. Netflix remains the dominant US streaming service, but others, such as HBO Max and Disney+, have increased in popularity.
