Streaming giant Netflix is increasing the cost of plans in the United Kingdom.
The platform, which makes hit series such as The Crown, Stranger Things, and Sex Education, says it has however seen a surge of subscribers, despite a slowdown in the streaming market. Its number of users recently grew to 247 million, reports the Telegraph.
As well as Britain, price plans are set to rise in the United States and France. The price of Netflix’s “basic” plan will increase by £1 to £7.99 per month in the UK, while its most expensive subscription will increase by £2 to £17.99.
The firm says the cost of its ad-supported version and its so-called “standard” subscription will remain unchanged. The company said it remained optimistic about the future of adverts in streaming.
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It said: “While we mostly paused price increases as we rolled out paid sharing, our overall approach remains the same — a range of prices and plans to meet a wide range of needs, and as we deliver more value to our members, we occasionally ask them to pay a bit more.
“Starting today, we’re adjusting prices in the US, UK and France. In the US, our ads ($6.99) and our Standard plans ($15.49) will stay the same, while Basic will now be $11.99 and Premium $22.99. For the UK and France, our pricing for Ads/Basic/Standard/Premium are UK £4.99/£7.99/£10.99/£17.99 and 5.99€/10.99€/ 13.49€/19.99€, respectively (like the US, our Ads and Standard plans in UK and France are unchanged).
“Our starting price is extremely competitive with other streamers and at $6.99 per month in the US, for example, it’s much less than the average price of a single movie ticket.
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“It’s been less than a year since launch. It takes time to build a new business from scratch, which is why we have said ad revenue would not be material to our business in 2023.
“We remain very optimistic about our long run opportunity in this very big market ($180B ex-China and Russia). Ad dollars follow eyeballs and more and more TV viewing is shifting from linear to streaming — we’re a leader in streaming engagement, and the engagement of our ad tier members is strong.”
The firm reported an 8.8 million increase in customers in the third quarter – its largest growth in years. Something bosses pinned on a crackdown on password sharing.
Subscribers wishing to share their account with another household must now cough up an extra £4.99. They also highlighted the impact of popular shows such as Top Boy and Sex Education.
The platform says it has shifted its focus from subscriber growth to profits due to competition from the likes of Amazon and Disney, as well as the impact of the cost of living crisis forcing some customers to cut back.
It also said its ad-supported tier has accounted for roughly 30% of its new sign-ups. Its revenues, it announced, hit $8.5bn in the third quarter, while profits of $1.7bn were ahead of analysts’ expectations.
The company expected its cash flow would be up to $6.5bn for the year, up $1.5bn from the forecast. Something it says is largely down to spending less money on new films and TV shows due to strikes in Hollywood.
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