Netflix to Hike Prices Again, Analysts Predict
By Movieguide® Contributor
Analysts say Netflix is going to hike its prices this year after it just raised them in October 2023.
“While Netflix was busy rolling out paid account-sharing options last year, the streaming giant also scaled back the price increases it would have liked to implement,” BGR reported. “That’s because, according to company co-CEO Greg Peters, ‘we saw (paid sharing) as a form of substitute price increase.’ Now that those account-sharing options are in place, though, I bet you can’t guess what’s going to happen next.”
Peters continued, “Now that we’re through that, we’re able to resume our sort of standard approach toward price increases.”
UBS analysts affirmed this, saying they anticipate price increases in 2024.
“The new playbook,” the UBS analysts said, “includes 1) price increases, 2) platform consolidation, 3) library curation (with attendant asset write-downs), 4) cuts to content spending (adjusting for strike-related declines in 2023) and 5) a renewed focus on content licensing.”
Movieguide® reported on last year’s price increase:
“Netflix plans to raise the price of its ad-free service a few months after the continuing Hollywood actors strike ends, the latest in a series of recent price increases by the country’s largest streaming platforms,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
And it did. The premium plan went up by $3, and the basic plan went up by $2 in the U.S.
The next round of price increases could be successful if Netflix can produce a steady stream of good-quality content. However, cuts to content spending might affect that, which could result in some unhappy customers.
The “UBS upped its estimates for Netflix net subscriber adds in 2024 from 18 million to 20 million ‘to reflect continued momentum in subscriber trends, upside to [average revenue per membership] and higher operating leverage,’” Variety reported. “The company added 29.5 million net new subscribers in 2023, up from an annual average of 21 million in 2020-22 as it ‘successfully implemented’ the paid sharing program across the globe, the analysts wrote.”
This wave of subscribers came even though the platform canceled popular shows like SHADOW AND BONE and LOCKWOOD & CO, Collider points out. But Netflix has provided some new hits recently. The live adaptation series of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER scored 21.2 million views in its first weekend, which outshined ONE PIECE.
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