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Netflix is Testing Even More Expensive Subscription Prices (bgr.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Every once in a while, we see Netflix test new plans in certain markets, and most of them involve price hikes. The same goes for the latest test that was spotted over in Italy, where the streaming giant is toying with a couple of different scenarios. First spotted by Italian-language blog SmartWorld, the tests suggest that Netflix is toying with the idea of either raising Standard and Premium subscription, or increasing all of its prices across the board.

Right now the default monthly Netflix streaming prices for Italy and other countries in the European Union are at Euro 7.99, or ~$9.1 (Base), Euro 10.99, or ~$12.5 (Standard), and Euro 13.99, or $16 (Premium). One of the tests that Netflix is currently conducting proposes that the Base subscription stays the same, but the Standard and Premium plans go up to Euro 12.99, or ~$14.8 and Euro 17.99, or ~$20.5 respectively.

6 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. You know, at some point soon... by cayenne8 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    ....they're gonna start really losing people.

    They have less and less content on there, and yet they keep raising their prices?

    For what exactly are we getting for this increate of money paid in?

    Original content is ok, some of it is pretty good, but they hardly ever these days have a modern movie I want to watch, which is why I subscribed to them int he first place!!!

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:You know, at some point soon... by wyattstorch516 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There is a difference between paying more money for the same thing and paying more money for less. Netflix loses content each time their licensing deals expire. Soon you will be paying for their originals and not much else.

    2. Re:You know, at some point soon... by terrycarlino · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You act like that's Netflix fault. It's not like they went to Disney and said "Go start your own streaming service. We don't want your content." It's not even like Netflix was too cheap to pay for it. They paid $100 million to keep streaming Friends, which while not my cup of tea is hugely popular among certain groups.

      Netflix doesn't have first run movies because the studios won't give Netflix streaming rights over them. In most cases those movies aren't available for streaming anywhere but Amazon, where you'll pay a price equivalent to buying the DVD for them, and have no guarantee they won't evaporate eventually.

  2. Tech by fluffernutter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The old network business model has to go. Let a network make shows, make them available to a box, and let me buy what I want. If I like a network I'll buy more of their shows. These old practices are keeping the technology for media watching back in the 80's. I'm getting tired of waiting for this to catch up.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  3. Re:The Splintering Continues by rhsanborn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They had to make the pivot for exactly the reason you mentioned. In early days, main-stream content was easy and cheap to license. It isn't anymore, so Netflix couldn't continue to exist. Continuing that business model meant Netflix was going to be dead. This new gambit either has to work, or it won't, but the old Netflix model of cheap third party content won't be back. I think it ultimately ends up with Netflix shrinking and having to be ok with that due to more competition. Maybe a micro-payments system might take over at some point where we can very democratically vote with our dollars, but ultimately, I don't think people really want that.

  4. Re:The Splintering Continues by AnonyMouseCowWard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think you're absolutely spot-on. Netflix of old is gone, or soon will be gone. Every media company is now realizing the value of owning the Internet distribution channel, and won't easily lease rights to a 3rd-party, which ultimately means a fragmentation of the market, the death of Netflix/Hulu, and a lot of Disney/HBO/etc. streaming services.

    The one problem media companies are not seeing is that Netflix is/was successful because it was an aggregator of content; people don't necessarily want to pay for the Disney Channel on its own at $15/month, that option always existed (more or less) via cable. I posit that as the market fragments itself, consumers will simply go back to piracy, because that's the only convenient and cheap way of getting the content.