Netflix Price Hike Expected by December 2024: Report
Netflix is rumoured to be considering a price increase for its standard and ad-supported plans by the end of 2024. According to research firm Jefferies, this adjustment might occur as soon as the fourth quarter or December of this year.
There are three key reasons behind this potential hike. Firstly, Netflix last raised the price of its standard plan in January 2022, making another increase timely. Secondly, the ad-supported plan is currently offered at the industry's lowest price, suggesting room for adjustment. Thirdly, Netflix has recently integrated live sports into its platform, which could justify higher prices.
"Netflix's last price hike on the standard plan was in Jan 2022, its ad-supported plan remains the cheapest (among major players) in the industry, and its move into live sports increases pricing power - for these 3 reasons we suspect a price hike in Q4 or December of this year could be coming on the standard plan," Jefferies said.
In October 2023, Netflix increased the prices of its Basic and Premium plans, making the speculation about a further hike for the standard and ad-supported plans more plausible. Additionally, Jefferies notes that Netflix might phase out its basic plans, with new pricing strategies driving Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth into 2025.
Supporting this speculation, Netflix previously announced that, with the upcoming addition of WWE Raw in 2025, subscribers would be asked to pay a bit more to help with these content enhancements. While this suggests a potential price increase, Netflix has not yet officially confirmed it.
"We believe Netflix has been positioning itself throughout this year for a year-end price hike. December / 2025 will have major content releases supporting a pricing increase including the Christmas NFL game, Squid Game 2 on Dec 26th (season 1 - the #1 watched NFLX show of all time), WWE Raw starting Jan 2025, and Stranger Things 5 coming in 2025 (season 3/4 in top 10 of all-time)," the research firm said.
It remains uncertain whether this anticipated price hike will impact the Indian market or if it will be limited to other regions. As subscribers await official news, the possibility of increased subscription costs looms on the horizon.