Netflix has confirmed its new prices for customers in the UK and EU but not to worry, if you’re an existing subscriber you won’t be affected for another two years.
Rather than introduce a new flat rate, subscriptions will now be tiered according to image quality and the number of streams that can be viewed simultaneously on an account.
Previously customers paid €7.99 for simultaneous HD streaming on as many devices as they like. From today there will be a choice of three packages: standard definition streaming on one device at a time for €7.99; €8.99 for high definition streaming on two screens at a time; and €11.99 for high definition streaming on four devices at a time. The free trial period of 30 days remains.
While price hikes had been flagged some weeks ago when US customers saw a blanket increase of $1, the more sophisticated approach on this side of the Atlantic would indicate more confidence in European broadband networks, where broadband connections are shread across the home and across devices by different users. Netflix currently recommends a minimum of 500Kb/s connection, and recommends 3Mb/s for stable standard definition streams, 5Mb/s for HD and 25Mb/s for 4K, speeds that homes using a fibre connection could easily be capable of handling.
Netflix has argued that any price increases would go towards funding more original content such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and Oscar-nominated documentary The Square. The strategy of putting entire series online at the same time has proven popular with users but left gaping holes in its schedule, which could create a level of ‘churn’ where audiences let their subscriptions lapse and wait until the next season of their favourite original show returns to sign up again. This strategy is being tested with the new From Dust Til Dawn series based on the cult movie, which is releasing episodes weekly.
In the US the increase in pricing was also attributed to paying extra to get direct access to ISPs’ broadband networks, providing faster speed to subscribers – a move that threatens to undermine network neutrality by instigating a ‘pay to play’ race with competitors in the on-demand/online rental space like Amazon and Apple.
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