SAN FRANCISCO – If you are one of the 58 million people who have a Netflix subscription, prepare to pay more for your favorite movies and shows.
Netflix is raising its prices by 5%, the biggest hike since the company started its services 12 years ago.
The popular HD plan will see the largest price increase from $11 to $13 a month. This option gives viewers the ability to stream high-definition shows on up to two separate devices at the same time. Even with the new price increase, this plan is still a few dollars cheaper than HBO, whose streaming service charges $15 per month.
The most basic Netflix subscription plan will be $9 a month while the premium plan will jump to $16 per month.
These new price plans will go into effect immediately for all new subscribers and will roll out to existing customers over the next three months.
The extra cash coming out of your pocket every month will help pay for Netflix’s huge investment in original shows and films and finance the heavy debt it has acquired to ward off rivals such as Amazon, Disney, and AT&T. Its annual programming costs reached $8 billion in 2018.
But more competition is coming for Netflix. NBC-Universal announced Monday it will launch its own streaming service in 2020.
NBC-Universal said its new service will include “homegrown original programming and content from outside partners.”
The Wall Street Journal reports the new service would be offered for free to 52 million pay-tv subscribers.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
