Netflix raised its monthly subscription fee for new subscribers in most European countries by 1 euro (or $1.10) to €9.99 following the subscription price hike in the U.S. last year. Netflix assured existing subscribers or “members,” as the firm pronounces them, will remain unaffected until May 2016.
Netflix needs money to continue with good services
Netflix users were informed through the mail, and the streaming firm justified the price hike to “continue providing good series and films.” However, the basic non-HD subscription will cost the same and $8.86 or €7.99 monthly, and the premium subscription is priced at $13.30 or €11.99.
Netflix’s price hike will impact most European nations where it operates, such as the Netherlands, Germany and France. In Switzerland, the streaming service giant announced a nearly equal hike in the standard subscription from $13.20 (CHF 12.90) to $15.26 (CHF 14.90) a month. A similar hike was made in the U.K. and the Nordics earlier this year.
Future Source Consulting, a British research firm, believes the U.S. firm has nearly 750,000 users in France, which is almost three times the number put forward by the French Ministry of Culture. Netflix hasn’t provided any numbers for Europe.
Germany, with 650,000 subscribers, is the second-biggest continental market for Netflix, claims Future Source Consulting. But with 4.5 million subscribers, U.K. remains the largest international market for the streaming firm. The U.S. firm is set to launch in Italy, Spain and Portugal later this year.
Foreign markets key for growth
Netflix, which is the biggest streaming service globally, is looking to foreign markets to push its next phase of growth as CEO Reed Hastings finds more ways to get a financial backup for the company’s expanding content budget. In the second quarter, Netflix gained 2.37 million subscribers in the international market, which is double the number of additions it made in its home market.
“There’s definitely more room for them to grow on the continent,” James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities, told Bloomberg. “I don’t think the price increase will have a material impact on their growth trajectory given it’s still a relatively modest sum versus most other pay-TV alternatives.”
Last year, Netflix raised its prices globally, marking its first price hike since 2011.
