According to Seth Schachner, managing director of digital entertainment consultancy firm Strat Americas, it's logical for Netflix to change the pricing after the SAG-AFTRA strike ends. While the streaming service needs the content, it will also be paying more for it.
“These strikes have been a win for the writing community,” Schachner says. “They’re getting performance-based incentives, an increase in compensation and more clarity.”
All streaming services have been pushing apart the two tiers of ad-free and ad-supported subscriptions, Schachner says. The intention is to build profitability in an industry that is still struggling to make it work financially. That means raising prices on the ad-free tier, which can make the more profitable ad-supported tiers attractive.
How Much More Subscribers Will Pay
Currently, the monthly fees for Netflix subscriptions are:
- $6.99: Standard, with ads. Watch on two supported devices.
- $15.49: Standard, ad-free. Watch on two supported devices.
- $19.99: Premium, ad-free. Watch on four supported devices.
Netflix has not publicly revealed how much the prices on its two ad-free tiers will rise, but Schachner predicts it will likely be an extra dollar or two.