Another Netflix price hike could be on the way

A Netflix price hike could be on the way for UK and US subscribers, as the streamer has already bumped pricing elsewhere.

Last week Netflix raised its prices suddenly in Spain and Italy, bumping up the Standard tier by one Euro, from €12.99 a month to €13.99 a month.

The 4K plan went up a full two Euros, to €19.99. And the ad-supported tier was jacked from €5.49 to €6.99.

While Netflix has not announced plans to do the same in the US or the UK, these recent changes aren’t exactly good news for those who already find streaming services increasingly hard to justify.

Current pricing sees you paying £4.99/$6.99 for the ad-supported tier, £10.99/$15.49 for the standard service and £17.99/$22.99 for 4K Netflix.

These numbers suggest to us UK Netflix fans may even be heading for a bump before their stateside cousins. The ad-supported tier in particular feels too much like an OK deal for us not to have to pay more before too long.

In a recent earnings report, Netflix said it had attracted five million new subscribers, and has a total of 283 million paid members at the moment.

Netflix’s share price instantly jumped by more than 10% after the better-than-expected financial results. And a cheeky price bump in some big territories would help secure that positive trajectory next time the streamer has to report to its shareholders.

There’s “the potential for a major price increase announcement, including the U.S.,” according to Dan Salmon, a New Street Research analyst quoted by Variety.

While there may be a sense that Netflix cancels all its shows just days after they are broadcast at the moment, Kaos being the most recent example, the streamer still spends an absolute packet making content.

Its 2024 content spend is expected to reach $17 billion, similar to its 2022 spend following a 2023 dip to “just” $13 billion thanks to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ guild strikes.

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