Netflix is considered an invaluable treasure trove of entertainment by the service’s most die-hard loyalists. Well, that treasure trove is about to get more expensive for new and existing customers.
On Tuesday, Netflix announced a price hike.
Effective this summer, Netflix will separate its DVD rental and streaming offerings into two distinct services. To enjoy both, prepare to cough up $16 per month. Presently, Netflix allows customers to enjoy each service for a single $9.99 monthly charge.
For current Netflix users, the changes commence September 1st – quite a stretch from last fall’s attempt to roll out a $7.99 streaming-only service.
“At the time, we didn’t anticipate offering DVD-only plans,” Netflix VP of Marketing Jessie Becker says. “Since then we have realized that there is still a very large continuing demand for DVDs both from our existing members as well as non-members.”
“As always,” Beck says, “our members can easily choose to change or cancel their unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both.”
It will be interesting to see just how many customers pull the plug on Netflix as a result of this unexpected hike.