Netflix is raising its UK prices. The Standard package will rise from £8.99 to £9.99 per month, while the Premium one will now cost £13.99, up from £11.99. However, the Basic plan remains at £5.99.
New members have been paying these prices since 10th December last year, but now existing Netflix customers face a potential £24-a-year price hike.
The streaming service claims the price increase is to help cover the costs of investing in original content. It is known for lavish productions such as The Crown, which is rumoured to be the most expensive TV show ever made.
Lockdowns around the globe saw Netflix's subscriber numbers grow by 16 million in the first three months of 2020. But with many households having their finances squeezed by the economic fallout from the pandemic, the timing of the price increase is far from ideal.
Netflix isn't the only streaming service to increase prices recently. At the end of last year, Disney+ announced that from March, it will cost £7.99 (up from £5.99), $7.99 (up from $6.99), AU$11.99 (up from AU$8.99).
Netflix's Basic plan (£5.99) only lets you watch on one screen at once, and in standard definition. Its Standard plan (£9.99) lets you watch on two screens simultaneously, and includes high definition, while Premium (£13.99) lets you watch on up to four screens at once and includes content in 4K.
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