Netflix Prices Going Up Again In 2024

Of course, this is hardly the first time Netflix has increased its prices. The streamer increased the price of its basic plan last Fall from $9.99 to $11.99 per month in the US, UK, and France. While Netflix hasn’t officially announced the price increases, this move would hardly be surprising. While the streamer’s co-CEO Greg Peters said increases were “on hold” at the Q4 2023 earnings call, he did add that the company will continue to try and deliver enough additional entertainment value to “ask [customers] to pay a bit more to keep that positive flywheel going and we can invest in more great films, series and games for those members.”

In other words, for Netflix, increasing prices is never truly going to be on hold for long. UBS’s analysis of Netflix also predicts a share increase from $570 to $685 per share, giving the stock a “buy” rating. If investors continue to be bullish on Netflix stock, this prediction could very well come true. Not to mention the fact that the streamer has gradually been increasing its share of US TV viewing.

Nielsen data indicates that its share of US TV viewing went up to 7.9 percent in January 2024 from its 7.7 percent share in December. UBS also noted that Netflix’s prices are lower than competing streaming services when looking at it on a per-hour viewing basis. The estimated price per hour of viewing on Netflix is reportedly 30 cents per hour on ad-free tiers.

That is compared to 56 cents for Hulu, 58 cents for Peacock, 73 cents for Disney+, and 81 cents for Max and Paramount+. While this might make Netflix prices seem like a good deal, it’s getting increasingly difficult for consumers to justify paying for all of these streaming services. Netflix, along with other streamers, has to set itself apart by continuing to offer original content with TV shows and movies.

While many streamers initially took a quantity-over-quality approach to original films and shows, Netflix and other streamers seem to be shifting to a more careful approach. If these streamers are able to better curate their offerings, it would help to justify the increases in prices that irritate customers. It’s difficult to want to continue being a paying subscriber when new shows are canceled almost as soon as they’re added to the platform.

In the meantime, Netflix’s hikes in prices seem to be working for the company. The streamer added 29.5 million net new subscribers in 2023, and UBS estimated that the streamer will add 20 million net subscribers in 2024. As much as the price hikes annoy us customers, it’s hard to imagine Netflix will stop as long as the revenue keeps flooding in.