Streaming is about to get a little pricier, with Wall Street analysts predicting that Netflix is planning a price hike for subscribers in America.
According to Variety, Piper Jaffray analysts said in a research note Monday that the streaming service “is positioned to raise fees for its streaming service on a regular basis” due to a recent survey of about 1,100 U.S. Netflix users that found 71 percent said they felt content on the service has improved.
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“We believe, as long as the vast majority of subscribers perceive that the service is improving, Netflix will be positioned to periodically increase price,” the analyst team led by Michael Olson wrote in a note. They added that if Netflix could get an additional boost if it lands Oscar nominations for its slate of upcoming originals films including Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and Susanne Bier’s Bird Box.”
Currently, the two-stream HD tier sits at $10.99 per month, the Premium Plan sits at $13.99 per month, and the single-stream, non-HD Basic plan sits at $7.99 per month, prices that last increased in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Wall Street analysts did not say how much they believe prices could jump, and Netflix has not yet given any clues that it is planning any price hikes.
The report of a possible price hike contradicts an earlier report that the streaming giant would be dropping prices in select markets, which are believed to mostly affect international markets in an effort to build its international base.
“We’ll experiment with other pricing models, not only for India, but around the world that allow us to sort of broaden access by providing a pricing tier that sits below our current lowest tier and we’ll see how that does in terms of being able to accelerate our growth and get more access,” chief product officer Greg Peters said.
CEO Reed Hastings told Reuters that the streaming giant is looking to introduce cheaper plans in India, which was launched two years ago, with plans currently sitting at 500 rupees ($6.90) for a basic plan, 650 ($9.00) for a standard plan, and 800 rupees ($11) for premium.
Netflix is reportedly looking to Asia to grow its international base, recently announcing 17 new shows from five Asian countries, as well as the announcement that the service is currently developing more than 100 film and TV projects across India, Korea, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan.
