Netflix price increase: service to get more expensive as it adds extra original content, says CEO

Company might also make it harder for people to share passwords, which lets one account be used by a number of people

Andrew Griffin
Monday 20 July 2015 16:35 BST
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Lorraine Toussaint (L) and Samira Wiley (R) in a scene from “Orange is the New Black” Season 2
Lorraine Toussaint (L) and Samira Wiley (R) in a scene from “Orange is the New Black” Season 2

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Netflix is set to get gradually more expensive in the coming years as the company looks to add more original content, its CEO has said.

It will look to slowly push people towards more expensive plans, Reed Hastings told investors last week. The company might also make it harder for people to share passwords — at the moment, users can have four profiles on one account, meaning that numerous people can stream while only paying once.

Hastings said that there’ll be no price increase in the next three months. But the cost will gradually go up over the next ten years.

“We want to take it very slow,” Hastings said. “Over the next decade I think we’ll be able to add more content and have more value and then price that appropriately.”

The company has been looking to emphasise its original content — and Hastings appeared during the event in a woolly sweater bearing the head of BoJack Horseman, the eponymous character of one of Netflix’s most popular original programmes.

Netflix last increased its price in the UK in June. It put the price up by 50p per month, but only for new subscribers.

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