Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Netflix subscribers who want access to the streaming video service’s limited selection of Ultra HD programming will now have to pay a little more for the privilege, various media outlets reported over the weekend.
According to HD Guru, Netflix has confirmed that it was raising their rates for 4K streaming content to $11.99 per month – a $4 per month increase for HD users who joined the service on or prior to May 9 of this year.
Adnan Farooqui of UberGizmo noted that the $11.99 “platinum plan” rate was for new subscribers or current users that had just purchased 4K UHD TVs. Members who were already paying for Ultra HD content on or prior to August 12 will be grandfathered into their current plans (some starting as low as $7.99 per month) through August 12, 2016, HD Guru and Farooqui added.
As SlashGear reporter Brittany Hillen explained, Netflix has been busy in recent months, including signing lucrative deals with Hollywood heavyweights to produce exclusive content for the service. While Hillen said that “consumers have expressed excitement” over those plans, she noted that they are bound to be “less excited” about this quiet 4K price hike.
“We decided to move 4K UHD video into our four-stream plan for new members who sign up and care about the highest-quality video Netflix offers,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety’s New York Digital Editor Todd Spangler. “We have a modest and growing catalog of titles in 4K, including ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘The Blacklist’ and a slate of upcoming Netflix original series.”
Netflix also told Spangler that it had to reposition its 4K service as a premium offering because of how much more money is required to acquire and produce Ultra HD than conventional high-definition programming. In addition, Netflix recommends that customers have broadband connection speeds of at least 25 megabits per second to stream video in Ultra HD, he added.
Netflix first began streaming content in Ultra HD in April, starting with the second season of House of Cards
In November 2013, following the video streaming service’s initial test of 4K UHD streaming, Greg Ireland, research manager for multiscreen video at the research firm IDC, told redOrbit’s Enid Burns, “I think from Netflix’s perspective or other over the top web video service provider perspectives, it’s a way to continue to differentiate high quality service.”
Of course, as Greg Kumparak of TechCrunch pointed out, some Netflix users who own a 4K TV won’t even see the option to watch shows in Ultra HD, because they have to own a model that is supported by the streaming video service.
“To oversimplify the whole thing: getting 4K TV content, even through Netflix, is still a bit limited/wonky right now,” Kumparak added. “If you’re not already in the market for a TV upgrade, there’s no reason to rush out and get a 4K TV right now – you’d just be paying a premium… for something you’ll hardly use right now. Wait a while.”
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Ultra HD Service Will Now Cost Netflix Users A Few Extra Dollars Per Month
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