We all knew this was coming. Netflix warned the world that it would have to increase its monthly premium slightly in 2014, in order to ensure high-quality service. Luckily, the price has only increased by $1 a month.
The price increase will only affect new Netflix customers, so those who signed up for the service before Friday May 9th will continue to pay just $7.99 each month for the next two years.
"To continue adding more movies and TV shows, we are increasing the price of our $7.99 a month streaming plan by one dollar to $8.99 for new members," Netflix said in a blog post. "Current Netflix members get to keep their current price for two years, enjoying HD-quality movies and TV shows on any two screens at the same time."
Netflix also announced that it will offer a new option of SD video-streaming on one screen at a time for the old price of $7.99 a month to new users.
Netflix claims that it has to increase its prices, so that it can continue to add new TV shows, movies and original content. Undoubtedly, Netflix's conflicts with cable provider Comcast and others also contributed to this price increase. Still, a $1 increase isn't too bad, all things considered.
"We will continue to make Netflix the best possible place to enjoy entertainment across all the devices our members own," Netflix said.
Netflix faces a lot of competition from Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, so it has to keep its content fresh and its service speedy. Netflix does offer great reliability and it has no ads to break up your viewing pleasure. Hulu Plus does have adds and, depending on your Internet speed, can suffer from a few hiccups now and then. Currently, Netflix is still a good deal, but as its competitors continue to rise, any further price increases will probably be looked down upon by new and existing customers.
With the new price increase, Netflix is more expensive than its competitors at an annual price of $107.88. Hulu Plus amounts to just $95.88 a year and Amazon Prime comes in at $99 a year. In the end, it all comes down to the quality of the stream and the variety of the content. Netflix better keep improving on both fronts, lest it lose its place at the top of the food chain.
