Netflix needs more money

Are you still watching? Netflix, the world’s largest streamer, needs money. Lots of money. Currently suffering under its biggest-ever quarterly increase in subscribers, the streamer requires an extra couple of bucks a month so you can watch five minutes of Back In Action before checking out what else is on. Standard ad-free plans are increasing by $2.50 (from $15.49 to $17.99), while Premium plans cost an extra $2 ($22.99 to $24.99). Want to add someone to your account? That’ll be another dollar ($6.99 to $7.99). Sadly, whatever costs those ads Netflix has been running for the last few years haven’t done anything to stave off the need for more money. Standard plans with ads will also be more expensive, driving the price of enjoying Squid Game with commercials from $7.99 to $8.99. What can we say? This is Bidenomics in action. It’s inflation, egg prices, and COVID recovery all rolled into one for the company that reported $10 billion in revenue for its fourth quarter. Should we launch a GoFundMe for the beleaguered streamer?

Variety reports that this is the first price hike to hit three years. Since then, Netflix has added 19 million new subscribers, more than 300 million globally. That means they’ll need more money if subscribers want to watch such sputtering live events as Jake Paul’s very exciting boxing match against a 58-year-old. Thanks to the price hikes, though, Netflix expects to generate between $43.5 billion and 44.5 billion next year, so we’ll probably see more advertisements and higher prices in 2026. But, whatever, how else will we rewatch Damsel or Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F or The Union or Lonely Planet or any of the very real, zeitgeist-capturing movies Netflix releases? It’s a great deal that keeps getting better.