For the first time in nearly two years, Netflix is planning to raise its prices again. The Wall Street Journal reports that Netflix will roll out a price hike for the ad-free service within months after the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike ends. Sources claim that Netflix is considering raising prices in several markets worldwide, starting with the US and Canada. The sources were unable to pry loose any information about what the new prices will be.
Over the years, Netflix has steadily increased its prices while occasionally introducing new plans and eliminating old ones. Most recently, Netflix raised the prices of the ad-free service in January 2022. Netflix Basic increased from $8.99 to $9.99, Netflix Standard rose from $13.99 to $15.49, and Netflix Premium jumped from $17.99 to $19.99.
In November 2022, Netflix launched the Basic with Ads plan for $6.99 a month, giving members a cheaper, ad-supported way to watch Netflix. Finally, the ad-free Basic plan was removed from the service earlier this year, and the ad-supported plan was renamed to Standard with ads. It’s been a very busy two years for the streaming service.
In the meantime, nearly every other streaming service has introduced a price hike as well. Hulu, Max, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Apple TV+ are all more expensive than they were in January 2022. Most of them have ad-supported plans now as well. Prime Video will make you pay extra just to avoid watching ads starting in early 2024.
As for the strikes, the WGA finally came to terms with the AMPTP on a new three-year deal on September 26 after 148 days. SAG-AFTRA, the actors guild, is still fighting for a fair contract as of Tuesday, October 3, but the two sides restarted discussions on Monday and are expected to meet again on Wednesday to potentially reach a deal of their own.
