A new report claims that Netflix subscribers should prepare to pay more if they are on the streaming service"s ad-free plans. The Wall Street Journal states, via unnamed sources, that Netflix plans to increase prices on those plans sometime in the next few months.
The report states Netflix will begin raising prices in a number of markets, including the US and Canada, a few months after the current Hollywood actor"s strike ends. The SAG-AFTRA actor unions have been on strike against the main Hollywood studios and major streamers, including Netflix, for a number of months. The two sides started talks to resolve the strike this week, and a possible agreement could in theory be finalized over the next few weeks.
The article didn"t offer any info on how much the prices will go up on the ad-free plans. Currently, Netflix has its Standard plan for $15.49 a month, with HD streaming for up to two concurrent devices. It also has the $19.99 a month Premium Plan, with 4K streaming and up to four concurrent devices at once.
If the report is accurate, it will be just the latest in the "streamflation" trend, as major streaming services keep hiking up their prices to try to become profitable.
This past summer, Disney announced major price increases for its ad-free plans on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Peacock also announced price increases for both its Premium and Premium Plus plans a few months ago. The same thing happened to YouTube Premium prices this past summer.
More recently Amazon announced that it would keep its prices for its Amazon Prime services the same, it would start incorporating ads into its Amazon Prime Video movie and TV show library sometime in early 2024. Users who want to ditch those ads can still do so, but at the extra cost of $2.99 a month.