Netflix raises its subscription prices in U.S., Canada

polygon.com:

In what’s becoming a nigh-annual tradition, Netflix is raising its subscription prices in the U.S. and Canada. Effective immediately for new customers and “gradually” for current subscribers — Netflix will give users a 30-day notice in advance of their price hike — all plans are going up by $1 to $2.

As first reported by Reuters, Netflix says the increase is to help cover the costs of an aggressive production slate, as competing streaming services have entered the market in the hopes of becoming the entertainment platform of choice.

Netflix currently offers three subscription tiers, distinguished by video quality and the amount of simultaneous streams permitted. The Basic plan — whose monthly cost is rising by $1, from $8.99 to $9.99 — permits standard-definition (480p) streams to one device. Netflix’s Standard plan adds one more screen and upgrades the resolution to 1080p HD, for $15.49 per month (an increase of $1.50 from the previous price of $13.99 a month). Premium allows four total screens and offers 4K streaming, for a monthly subscription of $19.99 (a $2 increase from the previous price of $17.99).

You can see a breakdown of the tiers, with new pricing listed, on Netflix’s support site.

As the most senior streamer around, Netflix has, by default, increased its prices the most — as a chart from The Verge shows, long gone are the heady days of 2011, when there was only one Netflix plan and it only cost $7.99 a month. But that was from a time before The Witcher. Do we want to go back to that? (Maybe.)