Netflix is testing new price plans with big discounts if you buy a year at a time

Disney+ has been available for only a month and the streaming service is already is a huge success for Disney. Not only do you get access to plenty of new and old Disney shows, but the Disney+ subscription is actually cheaper than any of Disney’s rivals. For $6.99, you get support for four simultaneous Disney+ streams that go up to 4K UHD quality, depending on the show. Netflix’s cheapest plan ($8.99) only supports streaming SD shows to a single device at a time. If you pay for a full year of Disney+ access, the monthly cost goes down to $5.83. It’s no wonder that more than 10 million people subscribed to Disney+ at launch, with many of them having taken advantage of even cheaper pre-release deals. And that number may hit 20 million by the end of the year, according to recent estimates.

All that is apparently enough to scare Netflix into finding better ways to compete against its biggest rival to date. And that includes testing new membership plans that would reduce the cost of Netflix plans when paying for a full year of the service.

Don’t get too exciting about halving your Netflix bill come next payment cycle, as there’s no telling whether Netflix will bring the leaked payment options below to your market. But the company is indeed running tests, so keep your fingers crossed.

Hey @NetflixIndia @beebomco recently I got this on Netflix android app….netflix Annual plan …. I am interested ❤ pic.twitter.com/neXpWoYkvV

— Tanmay (@TheTanmayPatel) November 27, 2019

A Twitter user (via Gadgets 360) already got the brand new Netflix pricing option over in India. The limited-time offer lets you save up to 50%, depending on how you choose to pay for the service. 12 months gets you the full 50% savings, while the 6-month and 3-month options are good for 30% and 20% discounts, respectively.

Applying the maximum savings to Netflix’s most expensive plan for the US means you’d be paying $7.99 per month for the Premium plan (up to 4K resolution for four simultaneous streams), for a one-time payment of $95.94. The Premium plan costs $15.99 per month as it stands right now.

What is interesting about the new test is that it’s targeting both mobile and web users. Also, Netflix is targeting both new and existing customers, the report notes. Netflix confirmed the test to Gadgets 360:

We believe that our members may value the flexibility that comes from being able to pay for a few months at once. As always this is a test and we will only introduce it more broadly if people find it useful.

Considering that Netflix has been raising prices for most users in recent years, giving them the option to save some money for longer commitments sounds like a great idea, especially considering Disney+ will likely expand its yearly subscription offer to other international markets once the service is ready to roll out in more countries. Then again, Netflix has been experimenting with cheaper plans for a long time in emerging markets, like the mobile-only plan that’s been made available in India. As is the case with that plan, there’s no telling if this new test will also hit western markets.