Netflix has raised its prices for subscribers in the UK and Ireland for the second time in 18 months.
The US-based streaming service has jacked up the cost of its Standard plan from £9.99 to £10.99 a month in the UK, and €12.99 to €14.99 in Ireland.
The non-HD Basic plan, which was £5.99 a month for an entire decade, has crept up to £6.99 in the UK. It's also up from €7.99 to €8.99 in Ireland. Cheeky.
Netflix's HD and 4K Premium plan has had the same treatment. It's risen by £2, to £15.99 a month in the UK, and by €2, to €19.99 in Ireland.
The new pricing strategy has already gone into effect for new subscribers. Existing Netflix users will get 30 days notice via email, depending on their billing cycle.
The streaming giant says the price bumps will allow it to "continue investing in best in class UK productions" and "offer a wide variety of curated quality shows and films".
Netflix has some 14 million subscribers in the UK and 600,000 in Ireland. Even if the vast majority are on Basic/Standard packages, the rises could see Netflix pull in upwards of an extra £15 million a month in the UK alone.
That's a drop in the ocean when you consider that Netflix is estimated to have spent $1 billion on content in 2020. The streaming service's homegrown hits include TV shows like The Crown, as well as Oscar-nominated movies such as The Power of the Dog starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Despite its success, Netflix is facing increased competition from streaming rivals Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max. In an effort to stay ahead of the pack, it's launched its own gaming platform and promised to release an original film a week throughout 2022.
Netflix isn't the only streaming service hiking prices, by the way. Disney+ raised its prices in 2020 while Amazon recently increased the cost of Prime membership in the US.
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