Netflix fan? Alert! You will have to pay more as platform hikes prices

The Netflix password sharing crackdown has paid dividends for Netflix! Now, the platform has increased prices for its subscription due to the rise in number of users.

Netflix has increased subscription plan prices in the US, UK and France. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo (REUTERS)

Netflix has shocked its fans, again! In a double whammy, first, Netflix launched a crackdown against password sharing on its platform. Now, it has increased the prices of its subscription plans. Earlier, the streaming platform disabled password sharing which resulted in an increase in the number of subscribers. The change led to a jump in subscribers by about 9 million in the third quarter, reports indicate. The price hike will come as a nasty shock to Netflix users as the company has been changing its policies and prices frequently. Check out the new Netflix subscription prices here.

New Netflix subscription prices in the US

According to a Reuters report, Netflix cracked down on password sharing outside of households provided that more than 100 million viewers use its service without subscribing. After seeing this data, Netflix is trying to increase its subscription prices globally by getting more people to pay for their subscriptions. Therefore, due to this reason, the most popular streaming platform has now increased its rates. This decision will upset customers, but Netflix is looking to remain profitable as well as competitive.

The new plans decided as per Netflix offers a Basic plan of $11.99 per month, and its Premium plan is now $22.99 per month. The ad-supported plan and Standard tier remain the same price. Reuters quoted Insider Intelligence analyst Ross Benes who said, “Using these tactics, Netflix will likely double its ad-supported viewership next year." Based on Visible Alpha estimates, the ad-supported plan is expected to generate $188.1 million in revenue in the third quarter which ended in September.

The Verge reported that Netflix earlier removed their basic plan in the US, UK, and Italy which saw an increasing number of viewers in Netflix's ads and Standard plans. Now, the company is also planning to do the same in Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Australia, and Brazil in the coming weeks. Additionally, Netflix might also introduce new features to its ad-supported plans.

This may be a shocker for Netflix subscribers but it is expected to lead to a spike in revenue for the company and will give it a competitive advantage against other streaming companies such as Walt Disney.