Netflix increases subscription prices in Australia

The good times couldn’t last forever. Months after American customers were stung by a price rise, it’s Australians’ turn.

Australian Netflix subscribers are about to be stung.

From today, Netflix will raise the price on their premium subscription plans from $17.99 to $19.99 but has left the cost of their basic ($9.99) and standard ($13.99) plans as they are.

The premium plan offers subscribers 4k streaming on available titles as well as four simultaneous streams, but less than a third of Australian Netflix subscribers are on that top tier.

Existing premium subscribers will see the price increase come through on their bills in the coming weeks but the change will take effect on all new sign-ups from today.

A Netflix spokesperson defended the increase. They said in a statement: “We change our prices from time to time and continue to invest heavily to grow in the depth and breadth of our content such as new shows like The Politician, Unbelievable, well-loved series like Stranger Things, The Good Place and The Crown, as well as improvements to our product.

“Our basic and standard memberships will remain at the same price, ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy our content.”

The Crown season three is coming on November 17

Netflix is expected to spend between $US15 billion and $US17.5 billion on content this year.

The only other time Netflix increased prices in Australia since its March 2015 launch was in June 2017 when the basic, standard and premium tiers increased by $1, $2 and $3 respectively.

That 2017 increase also absorbed government changes which required Netflix to charge GST on digital products.

Australia is the only territory to cop a price rise today but we were spared from the increases that rolled out to US and some Latin America subscribers in January.

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Netflix series The Politician debuted on the service last week

The price rise comes at a time of increased pressure for Netflix which will face two new rivals next month in the form of Disney+ and Apple TV+.

Additionally, Comcast/Universal has revealed it will launch its streaming service in the US in April 2020 while Warner Bros’ HBO Max is expected to be in market around the same time.

Disney+ is seen by industry prognosticators as the first real challenger to Netflix thanks to its decades-old brand heritage, exclusive content built on familiar titles such as Marvel and Star Wars, an extensive back catalogue and its lower pricing. Disney+ has only one pricing tier at $8.99 a month.

Netflix’s stock has also taken a hammering in recent weeks, losing most of its 2019 gains after reporting unexpected subscriber losses in the US during its second quarter, losses which it partly attributed to its US price rise.

Netflix currently has 151 million paying subscribers globally. Netflix declined to provide any Australian-specific numbers but Roy Morgan estimates put Australian reach (people who have access, not individual memberships) at 11.5 million.

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