Netflix is raising the price of standard and premium plans in the US

[User.45]

Netflix is raising the prices of its standard and premium plans. Its standard plan, previously $13 a month, is now $14, while the premium plan has been raised from $16 to $18 a month. The price of the basic service is unchanged at $9 a month.
For existing subscribers, the new pricing will kick in over the next two months, according to CNBC, and Netflix will alert users to the changes 30 days ahead fo time.
The latest increases were not unexpected. The company raised prices in Canada earlier this month, and analysts have been predicting for several months now that new increases were on the way. Netflix also recently ditched its long-running free trial period in the US.
The streaming service’s last price hike was in 2019, when the company raised prices on all of its plans in the US. It’s not clear if the company also intends to raise prices in other markets.

Netflix is raising the price of standard and premium plans in the US

Netflix is raising prices for most of its United States subscribers.

www.engadget.com

Not sure how you folks are with Netflix, but I really got disappointed in Netflix after their removed their original rating/recommendation system. With the 5-star system I knew that anything with a 4-star or better rating would be a movie I love. It worked so well, I could really organize a Saturday afternoon around watching a movie or two with such prediction.

Then they went thumbs up or down and they started giving me 97% recommendation on stuff I absolutely hate. I resisted for 3 years, but then I gave in and gave thumbs up/down ratings to 100+ titles. I personally cannot stand stand up comedy (and monologues in particular) so after I really got irritated by Netflix recommending 5 stand up specials, I went in the category and I thumb downed all of them. It hardly had any effect, and I continued to get just the same amount of recommendations for stand up specials.

So when it started to take 15-30 minutes to figure out what to watch every day, I decided to cancel it and it was a great choice. I'm happy with Hulu. I watch 3-4 shows total, and a movie every once in a while. Now I don't have to spend 2 hours a week just to figure out what to watch.

Which takes us back to Netflix. It's great that they have a ton of original content, but the new rating system is designed to paddle this content, no matter what. With them continuously increasing prices, I see the path leading back to what led to the downfall of cable TV: paying for watching continuous ads (for shows on Netflix), and difficulty of choice. The circles we are running in are just sad.

 

[JayMysteri0]

I guess I will have to decide. I enough use money given at Christmas to cards for Netflix, Hulu, and Sirius for the next year. I know I am keeping Hulu, and Sirius is for others in the house. So Netflix maybe under consideration.

 

[User.45]

I guess I will have to decide. I enough use money given at Christmas to cards for Netflix, Hulu, and Sirius for the next year. I know I am keeping Hulu, and Sirius is for others in the house. So Netflix maybe under consideration.

The last Netflix show I loved was Altered Carbon (season 1), but I was told season 2 was subpar. They make a lot of shows that go nowhere. HBO is much much better from this respect. They are selective and they make sure their shows are worth watching even those they cancel after a season or two.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Netflix seems to have this unstated policy that they kill a show after three years (if not sooner).

That's pretty bad considering a "season" is usually only 10 episodes or so, and it takes forever just to get from one season to the next. The broadcast networks are still better at that.

If I were a producer trying to sell a show and the only network that wanted to buy my project was Netflix, I'd be like, "Oh, no..."

 

[JayMysteri0]

The last Netflix show I loved was Altered Carbon (season 1), but I was told season 2 was subpar. They make a lot of shows that go nowhere. HBO is much much better from this respect. They are selective and they make sure their shows are worth watching even those they cancel after a season or two.

I can't explain it, I know it's a long personal history with me, but I just can't financially endorse HBO.

 

[JayMysteri0]

Netflix seems to have this unstated policy that they kill a show after three years (if not sooner).

That's pretty bad considering a "season" is usually only 10 episodes or so, and it takes forever just to get from one season to the next. The broadcast networks are still better at that.

If I were a producer trying to sell a show and the only network that wanted to buy my project was Netflix, I'd be like, "Oh, no..."

That is true. Netflix seems to work on the same cost plan that networks like SyFy do as well. Basically sign unknowns early hope show blows up, when it's time for new contracts cancel show. Unless the show is owned by them, and it blows up so big that it's tied into the brand of the network, it's dispensable.

 

[Eric]

I'll probably stay with them as I'm still on the standard plan, I actually had to downgrade to get movies in HD quality instead of 4K or HDR which are simply too dark for my $2000+ TV and mostly unwatchable. This has been an ongoing issue for years and is extremely frustrating on any of my TVs, the only way to downscale the content is to have the standard plan.

Between that and YTTV I'm pretty much set. We do have HBO Max for free through our ATT plan so we watch shows on that from time to time but their app is possibly the worst thing I've ever seen on either Roku or Samsung devices, dirt slow and terrible to navigate. None of them compare to YTTV.

 

[Alli]

The last Netflix show I loved was Altered Carbon (season 1), but I was told season 2 was subpar. They make a lot of shows that go nowhere. HBO is much much better from this respect. They are selective and they make sure their shows are worth watching even those they cancel after a season or two.

Whoever told you that - lied. Season 2 of Altered Carbon was amazing.

 

[User.45]

Whoever told you that - lied. Season 2 of Altered Carbon was amazing.

Dunno, it came from one of my best buddies I grew up with watching all sci-fis movies/series and reading all books we could come across. Mind Hunter on the other hand remained really really really good, but got canceled too.

Netflix seems to have this unstated policy that they kill a show after three years (if not sooner).

That's pretty bad considering a "season" is usually only 10 episodes or so, and it takes forever just to get from one season to the next. The broadcast networks are still better at that.

If I were a producer trying to sell a show and the only network that wanted to buy my project was Netflix, I'd be like, "Oh, no..."

Others complain of that too, and there's something to it. Their goal is to have a very wide but shallow portfolio. At the end of the day, I agree that it's an uncurated mess.

I'll probably stay with them as I'm still on the standard plan, I actually had to downgrade to get movies in HD quality instead of 4K or HDR which are simply too dark for my $2000+ TV and mostly unwatchable. This has been an ongoing issue for years and is extremely frustrating on any of my TVs, the only way to downscale the content is to have the standard plan.

Between that and YTTV I'm pretty much set. We do have HBO Max for free through our ATT plan so we watch shows on that from time to time but their app is possibly the worst thing I've ever seen on either Roku or Samsung devices, dirt slow and terrible to navigate. None of them compare to YTTV.

HBOmax's app is bad, but the repertoire is fantastic! My grievance is that you cannot turn off autoplay. WTF. THat's the first thing I do in streaming apps. If you aren't willing to do 2 clicks to continue watching, you just shouldn't watch.

 

[Edd]

Dunno, it came from one of my best buddies I grew up with watching all sci-fis movies/series and reading all books we could come across. Mind Hunter on the other hand remained really really really good, but got canceled too.


Others complain of that too, and there's something to it. Their goal is to have a very wide but shallow portfolio. At the end of the day, I agree that it's an uncurated mess.


HBOmax's app is bad, but the repertoire is fantastic! My grievance is that you cannot turn off autoplay. WTF. THat's the first thing I do in streaming apps. If you aren't willing to do 2 clicks to continue watching, you just shouldn't watch.

Agree with the HBO comments. If I need to choose only one service, HBO is the obvious choice, with decades of quality original content. I can’t decide between Deadwood and The Wire for best show ever.

 

[Alli]

Agree with the HBO comments. If I need to choose only one service, HBO is the obvious choice, with decades of quality original content. I can’t decide between Deadwood and The Wire for best show ever.

The Newsroom.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Others complain of that too, and there's something to it. Their goal is to have a very wide but shallow portfolio. At the end of the day, I agree that it's an uncurated mess.

Huh. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see that their policy is all about the metric$.

Historically, what networks have done is pay a portion of those production costs and then get the production company to pay the rest. The idea is that shows will be shopped internationally, going to other broadcasters and even streaming services, continuing to make money for the producers. But when something originates on Netflix, it typically stays on Netflix.

Netflix tries to make itself more appealing to TV show producers by giving them bonuses and pay bumps as a series carries on. (Analyst Tom) Harrington says that shows on Netflix are more expensive after season two, and even more expensive after season three, with the premiums going up each season. “They have to give [a show] more money per series, and if they decide to recommission it, it becomes more expensive for them to make,” he says. “Because of that, so many more shows are canceled after two series because it costs them more.”

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

Netflix is raising the price of standard and premium plans in the US

Netflix is raising prices for most of its United States subscribers.

www.engadget.com

Not sure how you folks are with Netflix, but I really got disappointed in Netflix after their removed their original rating/recommendation system. With the 5-star system I knew that anything with a 4-star or better rating would be a movie I love. It worked so well, I could really organize a Saturday afternoon around watching a movie or two with such prediction.

Then they went thumbs up or down and they started giving me 97% recommendation on stuff I absolutely hate. I resisted for 3 years, but then I gave in and gave thumbs up/down ratings to 100+ titles. I personally cannot stand stand up comedy (and monologues in particular) so after I really got irritated by Netflix recommending 5 stand up specials, I went in the category and I thumb downed all of them. It hardly had any effect, and I continued to get just the same amount of recommendations for stand up specials.

So when it started to take 15-30 minutes to figure out what to watch every day, I decided to cancel it and it was a great choice. I'm happy with Hulu. I watch 3-4 shows total, and a movie every once in a while. Now I don't have to spend 2 hours a week just to figure out what to watch.

Which takes us back to Netflix. It's great that they have a ton of original content, but the new rating system is designed to paddle this content, no matter what. With them continuously increasing prices, I see the path leading back to what led to the downfall of cable TV: paying for watching continuous ads (for shows on Netflix), and difficulty of choice. The circles we are running in are just sad.

Why the hate for standup? I have a friend who I don’t think would go as far as saying he can’t stand standup, but he sees a good percentage of it as marginalizing serious issues that shouldn’t be joked about. He’s also tightly would and sees meditation as important to his survival as oxygen and water. I think there’s a connection to be made there. I think he feels that people should focus on depressing themselves into action.

A lot has been written lately about Netflix canceling shows based on their formula of budget divided by number of eyeballs watching equals keep or cancel. That seems reasonable, but if that’s the case how about not releasing 100 new shows and movies every week. Maybe the issue is you’re churning out too much content and people don’t have the time to watch it all, especially series. Shit, how about not dumping an entire season of a show all at once? It’s like punishing your viewers for daring to have a life outside watching Netflix.

It seems more like they are obsessed with dominating the entertainment industry by flooding it with content and thinking about the budget way after the fact. I think the world would be just fine without another new Adam Sandler flop for the next decade. There’s a savings right there.

 

[Edd]

Best thing on Netflix is Community. That is all.

 

[User.45]

Why the hate for standup? I have a friend who I don’t think would go as far as saying he can’t stand standup, but he sees a good percentage of it as marginalizing serious issues that shouldn’t be joked about. He’s also tightly would and sees meditation as important to his survival as oxygen and water. I think there’s a connection to be made there. I think he feels that people should focus on depressing themselves into action.

It's simple. The Americans I know are horrible listeners. There's only a few people I know I can have a 2-way conversation with for more than an hour. It's an environmental thing, as my attention span lessened greatly over time too. But stand up is some sort of vicarious fulfillment of people's desire to be listened to. I generally care as much about a stand up comedian's opinion on certain issues as a celebrity's. They won't have neither more sophisticated, nor more diverse ideas on issues, just better packaging. So no, not my cup of tea