Netflix to increase prices for HD streaming plans

Netflix iOS

Two years ago, Netflix froze pricing for existing HD users at $7.99 per month. These rates are set to expire in February, ending the grandfathered pricing plan. This means all Netflix users will have to start paying $9.99 per month, or downgrade their plans. Currently, the standard plan for $9.99 includes HD video and allows two different screens to be watched simultaneously. The downgraded basic plan comes at $7.99, however HD video is not available and only one screen can be watched at a time.

The changes bring Netflix pricing for everyone in line, ending the two-year price freeze for long-time subscribers. Netflix reminded customers about the pricing shift in a letter to shareholders this month, stating that prices would be changing during the second and third quarters of 2016. Subscribers still paying $7.99 actually avoided two price increases that have happened in the interim.

Netflix raised its price for new customers on the standard plan by a dollar, in both 2014 and 2015. The company added 17 million subscribers last year, bringing the total number of paying customers to 75 million. Netflix expects this number to exceed 80 million by the end of March, and will be expanding into 130 countries during 2016.

Netflix produced 450 hours of original programming in 2015, with over 600 hours planned for this year. Find Netflix on the App Store for free. Netflix requires iOS 7.0 or later to install, and 33 MB of storage space. Netflix requires a subscription to stream content. New users can get a free one-month trial.