UK customers who signed up to Netflix soon after its launch will face a price hike of £1.50 to keep HD streaming of shows such as House of Cards or Orange is the New Black.
The service is moving those users who signed up in its early days from a £5.99 standard package to one costing £7.49. Users can opt to continue paying £5.99, but will only be able to get standard definition streaming and access via a single screen rather than two.
The rise applies to those who signed up before a previous price rise in May 2014, when users were told they would have their subscriptions frozen for two years, a process designed to keep existing users happy called “grandfathering”. Users who signed up between that point and Netflix’s most recent price rise when the HD package was increased from £6.99 to £7.49, will not see prices increase until next October.
Netflix has already announced a similar move for the US which will begin taking effect from May. Other territories where users had their prices held will also be subject to the change.
A Netflix spokesperson said: “Later this month, members in the UK will begin to be ungrandfathered. Beginning May, the price update is rolling out elsewhere based on member billing periods. Impacted members will be clearly notified by email and within the service, so that they have time to decide which plan/price point works best for them.”
In July, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings warned consumers to expect higher prices as it tries to shift users to more expensive plans, saying the money would be used to fund more investment in content. The company also offers a premium package, which allows users to stream 4K images and access the service on up to four screens.
The company is spending large amounts of money on commissioning original programming, such as the £100m royal biopic The Crown, which will debut on November 4.
The UK was was one of Netflix’s first markets outside the US, launching in 2012. It has seen rapid expansion with more than 5m households signed up to the service according to research by ratings agency Barb. Rival services such as Amazon Instant Video and Sky’s Now TV have not yet managed to match its success.
