Netflix Inc. is planning to raise the price of its ad-free service once the current actors strike ends, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The streaming giant is discussing price hikes in a number of markets, but will likely kick them off in the U.S. and Canada, the people said. There were no details on the scope of a price hike or when they would take effect and Netflix declined to comment to the paper.
Netflix was the only streaming company not to raise prices in the past year, preferring to seek to boost revenue by cracking down on password-sharing. Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
said last week it would add limited advertising to its Prime Video product starting in early 2024, following in the footsteps of Netflix. Subscribers who want to remain ad-free will have to pay an extra $2.99, while consumers in other countries will have that option at a later date.
Also see: Everything coming to Amazon’s Prime Video and Freevee in October 2023
The streaming companies have been exploring new kinds of content offerings from live sports to gaming. Disney
DIS,
is considering adding a live sports tier to Disney+ markets outside of the U.S., the Journal reported.
Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery
WBD,
announced plans to live sports on Max that would cost subscribers an additional $9.99 a month. And Apple TV
AAPL,
is selling Major League Soccer’s MLS Season Pass for $12.99 a month, or 25 per season to people who subscribe to Apple TV+, and $14.99 a month or $29 per season to those who don’t.
Netflix’s stock
NFLX,
was slightly higher Tuesday and has gained 30% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX
has gained 11%.
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