Netflix to increase prices for incoming users this June

Alexandra Torres

Now may be the time to shell out for that Netflix subscription.

If you’ve been wanting that Netflix streaming subscription and want to save a couple bucks a month, now seems like a perfect time to do so. The company recently stated in a letter to shareholders that it is going to raise prices for new members by the end of June.

Netflix has made television and movie streaming convenient. Photo from netflix.com.
Netflix has made television and movie streaming convenient. Photo from netflix.com.

The price will most likely increase by one or two dollars per month depending on the country. However, this new price change will not apply to existing members who will continue to pay the regular price for two years.

In recent years, Netflix has come to learn, through major consequences, on divulging its price changes to customers.  In 2011 when the company last announced a price change, subscribers took off, the stock price sank and Reed Hastings, the company’s CEO, had to apologize to its frustrated members.

Since then the company has earned back credibility with customers by adding a variety of original shows to their repertoire and scoring deals with huge entertainment companies like Disney. But this content also comes at a large cost. Netflix will spend almost $3 billion licensing popular shows and movies this year. The company needs more subscribers and more revenue per subscriber to keep its business profitable as these purchasing costs soar.

Netflix has said that these price changes will enable the company to acquire more content and deliver an even better streaming experience for its customers. Even at the news of a price change, Netflix continues to add new subscribers at a swift rate. The company added about 4 million new members in the beginning of 2014, bringing its overall subscriber base to more than 48 million worldwide.