Netflix just raised the price of its most popular streaming plan

Netflix has raised the price of its most popular, mid-tier plan by $1 per month for new subscribers in the American region.

Its formerly $8.99 plan, which allows HD streaming to two devices simultaneously, will now cost $9.99 per month for customers in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Netflix said in a statement to techradar that the increased cost to the plan will allow the company to continue adding new content, especially original programming.

"To continue adding more TV shows and movies including many Netflix original titles, we are modestly raising the price for some new members in the US, Canada and Latin America."

Fortunately, existing subscribers will not be affected, at least for not another year, with Netflix explaining, "As a thank you to existing Netflix members - who aren't already benefiting from a previous price guarantee - we will maintain their current price for a year."

Netflix's other plans, including the US$11.99 per month "premium" plan, which includes 4K streaming across four devices at the same time, and a $7.99 per month plan that lets you stream to only one device in standard definition, won't see a price increase.

All the content

Netflix has been increasing its focus on original programming this year with a range of original series as well as the upcoming feature film Beasts of No Nation, which is set to see a simultaneous release on Netflix and in cinemas later this month.

While we don't expect to see Netflix increasing prices in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, areas where the service launched earlier this year, UK subscribers saw a similar price hike in August, with the mid-tier plan increasing by 1 euro in the region, so a price increase in the US isn't too much of a surprise.

"The dollar increase for new members is to help us bring more great content, original and licensed, to the service," Netflix reiterated on Twitter in reply to questions about the subscription price change.

While the price increase will upset some users, we don't expect too many subscribers will turn away from Netflix because of price hike of $1 per month for only one of its plans, though there's a chance it could become prohibitive.

In comparison, Hulu has recently launched an ad-free service for $11.99 per month, while it's ad-supported service costs $7.99 per month.

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Via Bloomberg