Netflix has announced it will be raising its prices starting this month.
Previously, the massively popular streaming service cost $7.99 for two HD screens. Those who paid the original price were grandfathered in when the price rose. But starting soon, this will no longer be the case.
Now, paying $7.99 each month will grant customers one standard-definition screen. Two HD screens will cost $9.99 a month.
Paying $11.99 each month will grant viewers 4 Ultra-HD — or 4K — screens. Netflix plans to roll out these new changes this month, with the longest-subscribed members receiving the price change last.
However, Netflix has promised its customers will not be charged uninformed. In a letter to its shareholders, the company stated, “To reinforce brand trust, we won’t change anyone’s price without their acknowledgement of the new price in their member experience, where they will see a dialogue box about their options.”
The change in price has led some to consider other avenues for streamed enter- tainment.
Ashton Doyal, a UF civil engineering sophomore, is one of those people.
“I don’t think they (my parents) even use it that much,” the 20-year-old said. “They might just go with the lower plan.”
With the price change taken into consideration, Netflix is now the most ex- pensive of its competitors. Hulu offers its services for $7.99 per month with minimal advertisements, and Amazon Prime Instant Streaming offers a special price of $4 per month to students.
“I don’t think you’re going to raise prices on consumers and have them excited about it,” said Thomas Knight, an associated chair and lecturer in the UF Department of Economics. “But again, at the end of the day, it may still be profitable for Netflix to proceed with this plan.”
Netflix Office Interiors in Beverly Hills, CA on Friday, September 5, 2014. (Brandon Clark/ABImages)
