After accumulating about 19 million members in the last few months of 2024, Netflix plans to increase pricing in several regions.
According to the streaming company, membership fees would go up in the US, Canada, Argentina, and Portugal.
“We will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix,” it stated.
The second season of the South Korean drama Squid Game and sporting events like the boxing match between influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson helped Netflix announce higher-than-expected subscriber numbers.
Nearly every plan in the US will see price increases, including the basic subscription without advertisements, which will now cost $17.99 (£14.60) per month instead of $15.49.
Additionally, its ad-supported membership will increase by $1 to $7.99.
In addition to raising rates for certain plans in the UK, Netflix last increased prices in the US in October 2023.
A Netflix representative said that there was “nothing to share right now” when asked if pricing were going to go up in the UK.
In the meantime, the business reported that it had over 300 million users overall at the end of the previous year. It significantly exceeded the 9.6 million new customers that were anticipated to join between October and December.
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Netflix stated that it will “continue to announce paid memberships as we cross key milestones” going forward, marking the final time the company will publish quarterly subscriber growth.
In addition to Squid Game and the Paul vs. Tyson fight, Netflix streamed two NFL games on Christmas Day, plans to carry more live events, such as WWE wrestling, and has acquired the rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. According to Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight, Netflix “is now flexing its muscles by adjusting prices given its far stronger and diversified programming slate compared to rivals.” The company’s October-December net profit doubled to $1.8 billion, up from $8.8 billion to $10.2 billion in sales during the same period last year.
SOURCE: MYJOYONLINE
