Netflix Inc., the ubiquitous online video streaming service, has announced a $1 price hike for its monthly streaming subscription in the United States.
The price hike brings the standard monthly subscription price to $9.99 for new customers, and does not come as a surprise following a similar move in Europe earlier this year. Per CNBC, the price increase is set to kick in Nov. 11; however, existing customers will enjoy a grace period until October 2016.
Having emerged as the dominant online paid video streaming service, Netflix now has over 65 million subscribers worldwide, and has grown from a streaming service to one that creates its own content, producing a wide range of critically acclaimed programs, including Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Marvel’s Daredevils, and Narcos.
According to Bloomberg, Netflix has $4.3 billion in programming costs next year, and nearly $5 billion for the next three years.
Netflix has said it plans to finish its global expansion by the end of 2016, having recently added Australia, New Zealand and Japan this year. It is currently in more than 50 countries and will begin offering its streaming service in Spain, Portugal and Italy later this month.
The basic Netflix plan, which comes without high-definition playback and is limited to one viewing screen at a time, will remain at $7.99 a month.