3 weeks later, this morning, Netflix has made it public that time longtime Netflix subscribers will enjoy current prices for 2 more years, although the company didn’t say how much it would raise monthly fees for current customers. 

And as of this week, monthly subscription fees for new customers has been raised by $1 per month in the United States, which means that anyone who now signs up for the service from here on, will be paying $8.99 per month, while those of us who are already subscribers will continue to pay $7.99; However, as noted, that will change in 2 years, when you can expect your monthly Netflix fee to get boosted up to the higher rates – whatever they will be.

This will be the first price change the company has made since 2011, when its attempts to restructure its pricing model wasn’t handled quite so well. The company unbundled its DVD and streaming services, which customers weren’t exactly pleased with, even if only because they didn’t fully understand Netflix’s explanation for executing it.

But here’s my question for you all – if you don’t already currently have a Netflix streaming account, and have been interested in signing up for one, will this $1 per month price increase deter you? And if you’re already a Netflix streaming customer, does the fact that the company has now made it official that monthly costs will be raised in 2 years (even though we don’t yet know by how much) turn you off? Do you think you’d cancel your service when that time comes, whether the raise is $1 or $3? We can probably assume that it will likely be at least by $1. 

I’m a Netflix streaming subscriber, but I also use Amazon’s streaming service, as well as Hulu Plus – all of which I pay a monthly fee for. Quite frankly, I probably don’t need to have all 3 services, but I suppose the low monthly fees (about $30 combined) help. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m being ripped off, and the total cost isn’t a weight on my wallet. Keep in mind that I don’t have cable TV, so I’m not paying what I feel are exorbitant fees for cable that others are, because I just don’t think it’s worth it, especially when I really only watch between 5 and 10 total channels with any regularity. And I don’t miss it at all either. 

So when Netflix raises its monthly fees in 2 years, depending on how much of a boost it is, I probably won’t cancel my service. If it’s by what I feel is an unreasonable incremental amount (let’s say, anything over $5, which would take the monthly service to over $13), then of course, I’d reconsider. A key problem here, as I see it, is that, the way we produce, distribute, exhibit and consume content is changing rapidly, so, even though I’d like to consider myself a forward-thinking man with his finger on the pulse of evolving technology, I really can’t say with certainty how we’ll be doing any of those things in the next 2 years – even though 2 years really isn’t a very long time. But a lot can happen in that time period, especially in such a competitive environment, as media companies contest each other over consumer eyeballs, which, of course, is a good thing for the consumer. Trends can shift very quickly, with each platform constantly looking towards the next great thing, in order to try to stay ahead of rivals.

So this entire conversation about how any of us would react to inevitable price increases in the services we subscribe to (price increases that we don’t even know what will be yet), may all be too early and thus needless at this point.  

But I’m asking anyway, so indulge me: if you don’t already currently have a Netflix streaming account, and have been interested in signing up for one, will this new $1 per month price increase deter you? And if you’re already a Netflix streaming customer, does the fact that the company has now made it official that monthly costs will be raised in 2 years (even though we don’t yet know by how much) turn you off? Do you think you’d cancel your service when that time comes, whether the raise is $1 or $3? We can probably assume that it will likely be at least by $1.