Netflix is raising the price of all three of its subscription plans in the UK and Ireland.
The Basic package will be increasing from £5.99 a month to £6.99 in the UK, while the Standard plan will go from £9.99 to £10.99 and the Premium plan will increase from £13.99 to £15.99.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, the Basic package will rise from €7.99 to €8.99, the Standard package will increase from €12.99 to €14.99 and the Premium offering will go from €17.99 to €20.99.
The price hike varies across plans, ranging from a £1 increase on the Basic package to a £2 increase on the Premium option. While this might not sound like much, that’s an additional £12 to £24 out of its viewers’ pockets every year.
Netflix doesn’t offer a yearly subscription package either, so you can’t save money by paying upfront the way you can for other streaming services, like Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.
Sign up for Disney+
Disney+ offers access to loads of original shows like The Mandalorian and Hawkeye, classic films and content from big brands like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar.
- Disney+
- From £4.99 a month
Netflix claims the price hike will allow it to continue to invest in best in class UK productions and offer a variety of curated quality shows and films, noting that the UK is the biggest production hub outside of the US and Canada for the company.
The new pricing marks the first increase to Netflix’s Basic plan in the UK in a whole decade. However, the other two packages saw price hikes as recently as March 2021. The Premium package, in particular, has risen by £4 in the last year including this latest update – that’s almost a third of its total price.
“We have always been focused on providing our members both quality and clear value for their membership”, said a spokesperson for Netflix.
“Our updated prices reflect the investment we have made in our service and catalogue, and will allow us to continue making the series, documentaries and films our members love as well as investing in talent and the creative industry. We offer a range of plans so members can choose a price that works best for them”.
The price changes have already come into play for new users, but existing members can expect to be notified by email 30 days before they officially come into effect depending on their billing cycle.
Netflix is digging a hole for themselves with the latest price rise
Well they did warn us. Back in 2015, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the company were going to be pushing prices in the coming years and they have done exactly that. This latest price hike is the second in over a year, and I don’t think it will go down well.
No one likes price hike, and the new price of £16 for the 4K tier will inevitably rub people the wrong way, given the likes of Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video offer 4K content for half the price. Netflix say the rise in the UK & Ireland will help them continue to produce “best-in-class” UK-based productions and fund talent in the creative industries, but they said that in January 2021, too. Ultimately these costs are being passed onto the consumer and, weirdly, it feels like we’re being penalised for the success of homegrown films and series with an odd surcharge, as it were.
It also poses the question of when exactly these increases will end, if ever. If every time costs go up Netflix throw out this line, it could end up costing Netflix in a very different way – namely losing subscribers to cheaper alternatives. If Netflix is going to ride through this, we’re going to need to see plenty of bang for the considerable buck we’re paying.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
