The cost of watching Netflix hits from Bridgerton to The Crown is to increase, as the streaming platform raises its prices for subscribers in the UK and Ireland for the second time in less than 18 months. The move, the latest sign of the financial toll the growing competition is taking on the world’s most popular service, follows a round of price rises for UK subscribers in December 2020 and those in Ireland in March last year. Netflix, which has about 14 million UK subscribers and 600,000 in Ireland, according to Ampere Analysis, is to raise the price of its most popular package, which offers simultaneous viewing on two screens, HD and the ability to download shows and films to two devices, to £10.99 a month. It is also raising the price of its basic package for the first time in a decade. The entry-level plan, which allows viewers to watch only one screen at a time and download to one device, will rise by £1 a month to £6.99. Netflix said the increases were the inevitable cost associated with maintaining a continual pipeline of new content for viewers amid rising competition from rivals including Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max. The UK is Netflix’s biggest production base for TV shows and films outside the US with a $1bn annual content spend.
