Netflix price increase: Subscription fee automatically rises by 20%

Money will be used to pay for new shows, company claims

Netflix is hitting customers with an automatic price rise of up to 20 per cent.

The company says the extra money will be used to pay for new UK shows.

It follows a similar price rise in the US, the first since 2017, which it said would also fund original content.

Under the terms of the price rise, the Standard subscription will go up by £1, from £7.99 to £8.99. That plan allows people to have HD, and watch on two devices at once.

The Premium subscription, which costs slightly more but allows for 4K streaming and four devices at once, will go up by £2, meaning it will cost £11.99.

The Basic membership will stay the same price, at £5.99. But that plan has very limited features: only allowing for standard definition screening, and on one device.

The rises will go into immediate effect for new subscribers. It will roll out to existing ones over the coming weeks, Netflix said.

“We change our prices from time to time to reflect the significant investments we’ve made in new TV shows and films, as well as improvements to our product,” a Netflix spokesperson said.

“We have more than 50 productions planned in the UK this year, including new seasons of Black Mirror, Sex Education and After Life. Our basic membership will remain at the same price, ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy our content.”

Selected users had already seen the changes happening, reporting that they had seen increased prices when attempting to sign up. Some had seen even steeper price rises than those actually announced, but Netflix said the specific increases might never actually be rolled out.

Netflix said at the time that the changes were part of a test.