Netflix May Make Changes to its Pricing Schedule With the Addition of a Fourth Plan

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DooKey

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The folks over at phoneArena have been kind enough to translate the Italian blog Tutto Android and bring us information on a new tier of service Netflix may start offering. If the blog is correct it looks like Netflix is going to offer an Ultra tier - for more money of course. The new tier is basically the current Premium tier with HDR video and HD audio added. Unfortunately, this means they are cutting back the Premium tier from four streams to just two streams. If you subscribe to the Premium tier like me this is a reduction in service and it doesn't make me happy at all. However, this hasn't rolled out yet so I'm going to leave my pitchfork in the garage for now.

According to a report out of Italy, Netflix will add a new fourth tier of service called Ultra that will be priced at €16.99 a month in Italy. Based on current pricing, Netflix would charge $16.99 in the U.S. The only difference with the Ultra plan is that it supports HDR video and HD audio, and four screens can use the subscription at the same time.
 
Netflix is starting down the same road as cable. Charging extra for more screens is fine. Charging extra for 4K and HDR seems lame. The small amount of 4K/HDR content they have is shot that way and they are downgrading it for the lower paying customers. It's not like they have to make a new version just for the higher quality streams.
 
I just got my 4kOLED TV and need more 4k content. This works for me and I'd be finally switching off the 'family' plan to this plan.
 
tgom222 said:
Netflix is starting down the same road as cable. Charging extra for more screens is fine. Charging extra for 4K and HDR seems lame. The small amount of 4K/HDR content they have is shot that way and they are downgrading it for the lower paying customers. It's not like they have to make a new version just for the higher quality streams.
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So much this ^.

Also, I'm going to restrain myself and not go down the "see the media as intended" rabbit hole, but that's an issue here.

The thing is that 80% of people don't care about IQ or SQ anyway. 19% of those who do won't know they're missing the HDR content by being on the wrong plan. Netflix is going to single handedly keep the world in sRGB/SDR/1080p doing this, and that's not a good thing.
 
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Netflix is still cheaper than cable by almost half and it's got enough content to keep me sated, almost too much content. I get the highest tier and the Blu Ray service and my entertainments taken care of for 4 persons, not a bad deal. Now dropping HDR out of 4K streams seems pointless given the minor bandwidth savings. Seems like a testing the waters might be a good idea but I figure the backlash will make this new plan disappear sooner than later in those test markets.
 
PinchedNerve said:
I get Dolby Vision and Atmos already.

Off the top of my head, Bright, and Luke Cage, both offer it to me.
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I see now Nvidia Shield does not support Atmos on Netflix. I assumed it did as I get Atmos on the Vudu app. Apologies for the confusion.
 
tgom222 said:
Netflix is starting down the same road as cable. Charging extra for more screens is fine. Charging extra for 4K and HDR seems lame. The small amount of 4K/HDR content they have is shot that way and they are downgrading it for the lower paying customers. It's not like they have to make a new version just for the higher quality streams.
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I hate being devil's advocate. I think it's reasonable to believe 4k cost them more to stream than HD does.

But I think that Netflix should just have 1 simple, flat plan with a limitation on how many screens, then a flat charge for additional screens. That way it would encourage people to upgrade devices since the service is already there (4k,hdr, etc).

Perception is so crucial to the consumer market, even if it doesn't make sense. If you want to buy a new 4k TV, but then "have to" upgrade your sub packages, I think that would lead to less TV upgrades than if people knew the service would "just work".
 
I pay the premium plan right now as I have four people living in my house. Sometimes, everyone wants to watch something on Netflix. If they take away devices and raise rates, I'll reconsider my subscription. Hulu seems to be the more popular choice at our house rightr now - it has more shows the wife watches and my kids have found a few things they like.
Like the poster said - nothing official so know need to get pissed off quite yet.
 
bigdogchris said:
I think it's reasonable to believe 4k cost them more to stream than HD does.
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It does.

But only enough to justify a small premium, not a big one. They have to pay for more bandwidth to stream it to you, and pay a bit more to store it on their cache boxes. But the production costs are the same. The licensing/broadcast righs costs are the same. The encoding costs are the same.

Also, that's going to be less of an issue in a few years, when AV-1 codec usage becomes widespread and further cuts Netflix's bandwidth/storage use.

bigdogchris said:
But I think that Netflix should just have 1 simple, flat plan with a limitation on how many screens, then a flat charge for additional screens. That way it would encourage people to upgrade devices since the service is already there (4k,hdr, etc).

Perception is so crucial to the consumer market, even if it doesn't make sense. If you want to buy a new 4k TV, but then "have to" upgrade your sub packages, I think that would lead to less TV upgrades than if people knew the service would "just work".
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And I totally agree with you there.

Netflix doesn't charge users for streaming 1080p over 480p, because it's supposed to be a standard everyone can see. 4K/HDR is the same thing, the only difference being it's not quite as ubiquitous yet... Which Netflix is not helping with.
 
Another vote from me for de-coupling the number of streams and the quality level. I only stream one at a time (to my living room 4K OLED) but want that one stream to be the top Dolby Vision+Atmos. At the moment, I'm at Premium with 4 streams, 3 others of which I never actually use.
 
i actually wouldn't be all that surprised if this was an EU only thing as server/bandwidth costs there are immensely higher than they are here in NA. either way i'd still pay the extra 3 dollars a month as long as they expand their HDR library..
 
Netflix now uses more than what, 40% of ALL internet traffic? Did people think it would last forever at those kinda loads? 4K and HDR content is only going to make streaming consume even more, which costs every time you view it, not just licensing fees etc.
 
Montu said:
However, this hasn't rolled out yet so I'm going to leave my pitchfork in the garage for now.
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steakman1971 said:
Like the poster said - nothing official so know need to get pissed off quite yet.
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See IMHO I think this is the absolute most important time to get out the pitchforks and start complaining. This info was dropped to test the waters to see how bad the outrage is going to be. If it isn't all that bad because people are thinking "they haven't done it yet" then Neflix will think looks like it's fine and roll it out. The one thing I have noticed is in general once a price increase has happened, it will NEVER drop again. So if this is something you don't want to happen start protesting as soon as the info starts leaking out, because after it's done, it's too late. The chances of them backpedaling due to outrage after a price increase is nearly 0. The only way for that to happen is if a significant number of people quit because if it and that generally doesn't happen.
 
steakman1971 said:
I pay the premium plan right now as I have four people living in my house. Sometimes, everyone wants to watch something on Netflix. If they take away devices and raise rates, I'll reconsider my subscription. Hulu seems to be the more popular choice at our house rightr now - it has more shows the wife watches and my kids have found a few things they like.
Like the poster said - nothing official so know need to get pissed off quite yet.
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I already quit for Hulu and never looked back. A lot of the new netflix original content is garbage imo. Any good shows I would want to watch (punisher, daredevil,etc..), I'll just subscribe for 1 month, binge it, and cancel again assuming they come out with more seasons.
 
im still waiting for netflix to offer another tier where you get access to perhaps new movies or the like, ahead of general release.
 
The current top tier plan supports 4K and HDR and if they remove it from that I'm going to be a very unhappy subscriber. My guess is yes, that will be the case so I'll be calling and raising hell about it. I've been paying for 4K and HDR already. Creating an all new tier to offer the same is bull. If, miraculously, they only increase screen count I'll be surprised and pleased...though I doubt that will be the case.
 
tgom222 said:
Netflix is starting down the same road as cable. Charging extra for more screens is fine. Charging extra for 4K and HDR seems lame. The small amount of 4K/HDR content they have is shot that way and they are downgrading it for the lower paying customers. It's not like they have to make a new version just for the higher quality streams.
Click to expand...
These kinds of services are never about recovering costs. It doesn't matter that it is no extra cost for them, or even less. They won't give it to you for free if they can charge a fee for it.
 
This would be soft of compelling if Netflix actually cared about licensing movies that appeared in theaters from you know the current year...
 
Montu said:
Unfortunately, this means they are cutting back the Premium tier from four streams to just two streams. If you subscribe to the Premium tier like me this is a reduction in service and it doesn't make me happy at all.
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The graphic that is in the article, which is what this is based on, says that premium has 4 channels. the only difference is UHD and HD audio.
 
Lots of people share Netflix accounts outside of immediate family. Netflix should begin to address that, rather than raise rates and grant more tiering options.

How?

Easy - When two vastly different IP addresses are streaming media from the same account on an ongoing basis at primtime, it's nearly impossible for that to be a traditional family plan.

As they raise prices - more of this 'sharing' will occur, rather than less, which will lead to more 'sharing'.
 
If they raise rates too much and there is nothing compelling to watch each month, I will just go back to quitting for a month or two then resubscribing.
 
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raz-0 said:
The graphic that is in the article, which is what this is based on, says that premium has 4 channels. the only difference is UHD and HD audio.
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The nontranslated graphic shows the ultra tier with 4 screens, and the premium with 2. The other graphic, that is black, is Netflix's current US tier and pricing.
 
Am i the only one that is not paying them a dime?
Honest question, not playing it edgy. It's wrong, i know, but yes, i 'pirate' whatever i find me interesting in.

(one time, some other company dropped its streaming quality. Another, they put my channel on a different plan and no one told me. Yet another, i had to buy new hardware, new screen, along with making software changes i didn't want to but hey, yet again no one asked me. So now i just torrent what little i'm interested in and couldn't care less)

Genuine interest. Do people complain out of principle, or are they actual, proper customers?
 
Archaea said:
How?

Easy - When two vastly different IP addresses are streaming media from the same account on an ongoing basis at primtime, it's nearly impossible for that to be a traditional family plan.

As they raise prices - more of this 'sharing' will occur, rather than less, which will lead to more 'sharing'.
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My girlfriend works nights 5 nights a week, she is a nurse, while I work days, so our account regularly shows different IPs during the same time. At least during "primetime".
 
Aenra said:
Am i the only one that is not paying them a dime?
Honest question, not playing it edgy. It's wrong, i know, but yes, i 'pirate' whatever i find me interesting in.
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Nope - I used to subscribe to Netflix (started in the DVD mailing days) but dropped them years ago when I realized I hardly watched stuff, and many times I would go looking for stuff and they didn't have it. To top it off, Verizon gave me all the premium channels for free to keep me, and I have Tivo so my DVR experience is excellent. I'd have to subscribe to at least four different services to get the shows I like vs. just recording them from my Tivo. Or streaming them from the network's apps since I subscribe via cable. For me cord cutting didn't make sense, but everyone is different.

There's been lots of changes the last several years so when my free stuff from Verizon runs out and if they don't re-up it I may have to run the math again.
 
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DocNo said:
I may have to run the math again.
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Follow up :)
Does that not bother you? The multiple services, the need to keep up (see HDR and Windows), the occasional re-subbing, or even the search you'd have to do prior to?

I mean i can see the kind of guy that would like this (don't mean it in a bad way, i really get it), but i don't know, feels like too much work.
 
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Aenra said:
Follow up :)
Does that not bother you? The multiple services, the need to keep up (see HDR and Windows), the occasional re-subbing, or even the search you'd have to do prior to?

I mean i can see the kind of guy that would like this (don't mean it in a bad way, i really get it), but i don't know, feels like too much work.
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Oh no, the convince factor is huge. If it wasn't for Tivo I'd probably be a cord cutter with a Roku. But the last three or four years after they did a major update I can search from one place and it shows me content wherever it's available - from cable or from any of the streaming apps (and they are all on Tivo) all in one integrated place. And 9 times out of 10, what I want is on one of the streaming apps for a network I get via cable.

I don't care if cord cutting was 20% cheaper than cable - juggling all the subscriptions and what shows are on what streaming service isn't worth the hassle. Then again Tivo would make that easier too. Well, except for tracking all the subscription payments. I don't expect cord cutting to be significantly cheaper than cable (Indeed, many cord cutting proponents will often admit they pay more cord cutting - go figure) but so many people are doing it I just want to see if there really is something to it, or are people just blindly following yet another trend?

Bah. I just want iTunes or Amazon music for video. Stupid video content providers. On the positive side I'm watching less crap and reading more books :)
 
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DocNo said:
less crap and reading more books :)
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aah, now there's a subject! Wrong forum though, lol
(i must have read about 7000 total by now, as of last estimate. Professional hazard, lol)

Anyway, thanks for replying, i get curious once in a while :)
 
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I pay for their top tier because I want UHD but only ever use a single stream. I would like to see stream count and features decoupled. Of course that would make many people's prices go down so it seems unlikely.
 
Don't care. I get all my Netflix fix's through legit linux distro downloads.
 
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katanaD said:
im still waiting for netflix to offer another tier where you get access to perhaps new movies or the like, ahead of general release.
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not going to happen.. that's solely under control by the movie industries bullshit contracts that netflix is required to abide by.
 
Seventyfive said:
I already quit for Hulu and never looked back. A lot of the new netflix original content is garbage imo. Any good shows I would want to watch (punisher, daredevil,etc..), I'll just subscribe for 1 month, binge it, and cancel again assuming they come out with more seasons.
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I see this model coming my way. I do that with HBO Now and Starz - I subscribe, watch the show I cared about, then cancel. Wasn't anything else to hold my interest.
I believe we will see the streaming service consolidate a lot more over the next few years. There will probably be less players involved. Makes sense - we only have so much free time and limited funds to spend money on.
 
tgom222 said:
Netflix is starting down the same road as cable. Charging extra for more screens is fine. Charging extra for 4K and HDR seems lame. The small amount of 4K/HDR content they have is shot that way and they are downgrading it for the lower paying customers. It's not like they have to make a new version just for the higher quality streams.
Click to expand...
If you ever thought that the price of streaming video was going to remain anywhere near where it is right now, you were deluding yourself. For the money there's a ton of content. Now maybe that's not the content you want, in which case you just drop it or get it for a few months a year and binge whatever you want to see, but prices will go up, because content will become more expensive to acquire. This is especially true as companies like Disney and Viacom/CBS remove their content in favor of hteir own services...and in the case of CBS, the value is much lower than Netflix.
 
dali71 said:
I dropped Netflix when they announced their deal with the Obamas and added Susan Rice to their board. I refuse to subsidize people who are actively trying to destroy our country.
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Thanks Obama.
 
nilepez said:
If you ever thought that the price of streaming video was going to remain anywhere near where it is right now, you were deluding yourself. For the money there's a ton of content. Now maybe that's not the content you want, in which case you just drop it or get it for a few months a year and binge whatever you want to see, but prices will go up, because content will become more expensive to acquire. This is especially true as companies like Disney and Viacom/CBS remove their content in favor of hteir own services...and in the case of CBS, the value is much lower than Netflix.
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and that's the advantage of streaming services, try that crap with your tv provider and see how that goes, lol.
 
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