Netflix announces biggest price hike yet
Could Netflix' price hikes impact subscriber growth?
Rosecliff Capital's Michael Murphy and Money Map Press' D.R. Barton on Netflix' decision to raise prices for U.S. subscribers.
Netflix just announced its biggest price increase ever, since the company launched its streaming service more than a decade ago.
On Tuesday, the streaming service said it will raise its U.S. prices by 13 percent to 18 percent. Its most popular plan will see the biggest increase, to $13 per month from $11, according to the Associated Press.
Bolstered by the success of its original series and movies like "Stranger Things," "House of Cards" and "Bird Box," Netflix will pour money from the costlier plan into its huge investment in original shows and films.
It will also finance the debt it’s taken off to ward off competitors like Amazon, Disney and AT&T. This marks the fourth time that Netflix has raised prices; it last did so in 2017, when it hiked the subscription fee of its most popular plan by $1.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 554.60 | -0.44 | -0.08% |
Netflix will also raise the price of its cheapest, most-basic plan to $9 from $8. A premium plan that offers ultra-high definition, meanwhile, while climbing to $16 per month, from $14. The new plans will immediately affect all new subscribers and then roll out to existing customers over the course of the next three months.
Although the price hike might not be popular with customers, Netflix shares jumped on the news.
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As of September, Netflix had nearly 79 million subscribers outside the U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.