Netflix is raising the price of its most popular plan, which offers access to two HD streams concurrently, from $8.99 to $9.99 per month for new subscribers in the U.S.
The company, which has more than 65 million streaming customers worldwide, also is increasing prices of the two-stream plan in Canada and Latin America.
“To continue adding more TV shows and movies including many Netflix original titles, we are modestly raising the price for some new members in the U.S., Canada and Latin America,” a Netflix rep wrote in an emailed statement.
Netflix said that current pricing for existing subscribers on the “standard” plan will remain in place for 12 months, unless they’re already covered by a price guarantee with a longer term.
It’s the company’s second price hike in the U.S. in less than two years. Netflix in May 2014 raised the price of the two-stream plan by $1, from $7.99 to $8.99. It informed existing customers then that it wouldn’t raise their rates for two years.
Even at $9.99, Netflix’s standard plan is cheaper than Hulu’s commercial-free subscription tier ($11.99 per month), as well as HBO Now ($14.99) and Showtime’s over-the-top service ($10.99).
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When it bumped up pricing last year, Netflix introduced a single-stream, non-HD plan (the “basic” plan) for $7.99 monthly; that pricing will not change. In addition, the company’s “premium” plan — offering up to four simultaneous streams and access to 4K Ultra HD titles — will remain unchanged at $11.99 per month.
This past August, Netflix implemented a 10% price increase for its European markets for the standard two-stream HD subscription service for new members.
Netflix’s latest price increase was first reported by Bloomberg. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company is scheduled to report third-quarter 2015 earnings on Oct. 14.
