Netflix started the year off with a bang by announcing a price hike for all of its plans.
On January 14th, the streamer revealed that, effectively immediately, the prices of its Basic, Standard, and Premium plans would all be going up. Netflix temporarily spared its existing subscribers, but that reprieve is now coming to an end as well.
Netflix started sending out emails last week informing users about the upcoming price hike. This was inevitable, but the way that Netflix has decided to characterize the price increase is rubbing users the wrong way. Here’s the subject line of the email Netflix has been sending to its subscribers: “We’re updating our prices — here’s why.”
Netflix tries to soften the blow of its price hike
“We hope you’re enjoying everything Netflix has to offer,” the email reads. “We’re updating our prices to bring you more great entertainment. Your monthly price will change to $19.99 on March 3, 2022.” The price and date depend on your plan, of course.
At no point does Netflix actually refer to the “updated prices” as “higher prices” in the email. Netflix has employed this tactic previously as well. While the company is technically correct, it certainly does not feel very honest. After all, none of the “updated” prices are any lower than they were before. Netflix simply wants to soften the blow and probably assumes that some of its subscribers won’t even notice that the price is increasing.
“This update will allow us to deliver even more value for your membership — with stories that lift you up, move you or simply make your day a little better,” the email concludes.
How Netflix subscribers are reacting
If you somehow missed the news last month, all of Netflix’s plans are more expensive now than they were last year The Basic plan, which lets you watch on one screen at a time in SD, increased from $8.99 to $9.99. The Standard plan, which lets you watch on two screens at a time in HD, increased from $13.99 to $15.49. Finally, the Premium plan, which includes four screens at a time in 4K Ultra HD, increased from $17.99 to $19.99.
Subscribers are never thrilled about price hikes, but the carefully-worded email is especially irritating. As Phillip Swann notes on his blog, the frustration is starting to boil over. Here are some of the tweets from users just now finding out about the Netflix price hike:
If you want to keep Netflix but simply can’t stomach yet another price hike, the best bet might be to downgrade to a cheaper plan. Thankfully, it’s a rather easy process, and you can read more about it here. If you would rather just cancel your plan, visit this page and sign in. You will have access to your account until your next billing date.
If you sign back up within 10 months, you’ll be able to restore all of your profiles, favorites, viewing preferences, and account details.
