We now have specifics on the Netflix price increases announced last month by CEO, Reed Hastings. The company’s original subscription plan, which allows for HD streaming on two screens at once, will be going up by a buck to $8.99 per month. At the same time, Netflix is introducing a new plan that allows standard-definition streaming to a single device at the old $7.99 price point. Luckily, current Netflix subscribers don’t have to face the soul-rending choice between the two just yet: For the next two years, they’ll be allowed the privilege of continuing to pay $7.99 for the two-screen service.
Netflix claims the price increase—which could, based on subscription data the company released earlier this year, earn it an extra $33 million per month in just the U.S.—will go toward acquiring new TV shows and movies to stream. Indeed, the company paved the way toward the price bump by announcing its first Spanish-language original programming, as well as a new comedy series from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz, and a third season of the original hit series Orange Is The New Black.
The $1 increase seems perfectly tailored to provoke annoyance from customers, but not subscription-canceling anger. After all, what’s an extra $12 a year, especially when compared to the incalculable damage the service has already done to our relationships, our children, and our sex lives?