Your monthly subscription to Netflix (NFLX) just got more expensive. The giant announced a set of price increases for its US plans yesterday (Jan. 21) on the back of rising fourth-quarter revenue and record subscriber growth. The basic ad-supported tier now costs $7.99 per month instead of $6.99; standard plan costs $17.99 (down from $15.49); and the premium plan will set you back $22.99 (from $20.99). The price increase will also affect the programs in Canada, Portugal and Argentina.
To justify the latest price hike, the second round in just over a year, Netflix is promising a slate of new content through 2025. to support you,” said CEO Ted Sarandos on the earnings call yesterday.
In the October-December quarter, Netflix added a record 19 million subscribers, bringing its global membership to 302 million. Revenue for the quarter jumped 16 percent year over year to $10.2 billion, beating Wall Street estimates. Total revenue doubled to $1.9 billion. This is also the last time Netflix discloses subscriber numbers in quarterly reports.
The company’s huge success in 2024 can be attributed to a number of hit shows, such as the second season squid game, and a foray into live sports that seems to be paying off. Netflix’s coverage of the November boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was the most-streamed sporting event in history with nearly 60 million viewers, while the two NFL games hosted on Christmas Day stand as the most-streamed NFL games with nearly 65 million total viewers between them.
What’s next for Netflix in 2025?
Despite plans to continue streaming sporting events such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031, Netflix is not looking at its future in sports entirely. Sarandos acknowledged that the “fundamental economics of full-season major league games” remain a “huge challenge” and said the company will focus on broadcasting live events more widely. Its live programming in 2025 will include WWE programming, the SAG Awards, a variety show from comedian John Mulaney and “a few surprises,” Sarandos said.
The giant doesn’t just measure success by revenue and viewers. The past year has also seen the company churn out shows that “stabbed the cultural zeitgeist,” according to Netflix’s earnings report, which points to its content making up six of the ten most-searched TV shows on Google ( GOOGL ).
Some shows, like Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendezand make an impact on the most amazing place on the internet: Wikipedia. The Netflix release helped push the Wikipedia page for Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1989, to the fifth most-read Wikipedia page in the US in 2024 with 26 million views. Another Netflix show focusing on Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco, meanwhile, saw Blanco’s page become the 23rd most read page on Wikipedia last year.
