Millions Of New Yorkers To Pay Even More For Streaming Services

Most households in New York State subscribe to at least one streaming service. We’d even go so far as to guess that most of them subscribe to multiple - after all, there are tons of them to choose from. 

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Many of us who use a streaming service on a daily or weekly basis go the route of sharing a password with friends or family to keep costs from adding up. After all, it is a smart way to keep your budget in check without missing out on the shows you want to watch.

However, this past May, the original and arguably most popular streaming service, Netflix, squashed that, making it so you can’t share the same account in multiple households.

Since Netflix has cracked down on users sharing their accounts with people who don’t live with them, many subscribers are left footing the entire bill for themselves. And unfortunately, that bill is about to take an even bigger chunk out of their bank account.

Netflix Is Raising Their Prices Yet Again

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix was planning to raise the cost of its plans. Now, it looks like it’s actually happening. 

Netflix revealed that beginning October 18th, they’ll be raising its prices. Basic plan subscribers will now have to pay $11.99 a month vs the $9.99 they were paying before. Premium plan users will also see their bill go up, from $19.99 to $22.99. Netflix’s $6.99 ad-supported plan and $15.49 Standard plan will remain the same price.

Why Is Netflix Raising Its Prices?

Remember the Writers’ Strike that just ended? Streaming platforms like Netflix had a lot to do with them going on strike in the first place.

The new deal that the Writers Guild of America made with Netflix and other streamers called for providing streaming data to writers, higher minimum pay, and better residuals. The writers of the successful shows and movies we love to watch absolutely deserve that. 

But the bummer is that all of these benefits will cost companies more money, and some will push the cost down to its consumers.

In a letter to its shareholders, Netflix justified the price increase, saying:

 “Our starting price is extremely competitive with other streamers and at $6.99 per month in the US, for example, it’s much less than the average price of a single movie ticket.”

It wouldn’t be shocking if in the next few months, we see other streaming services follow suit and up the cost of their subscription plans as well.

A $2 or $3 increase may not seem like much, but over many months (and possibly years) of watching Netflix, the cost definitely adds up.  We’re curious to see if Netflix users will fork over the $24 or $36 more per year to keep watching their favorite shows, or if this will finally push them to “cut the cord” and cancel.