Netflix confirms price increases for Irish subscribers

Netflix has confirmed price increases for Irish subscribers just weeks after raising the cost of its subscription plans in the UK.

The streaming service said that both standard and premium plans are to rise as of Thursday in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, with costs increasing by as much as 14.5 per cent. However, Netflix stressed that its basic offering will remain unchanged at €7.99.

The price increases come as Netflix boosts spending on original content ahead of the launch of Disney’s streaming service, which is set to launch later this year.

Netflix said that its standard plan, which allows users to view content on two screens at the same time, is to rise by €1 to €11.99. Its premium subscription plan, which lets users stream TV shows and movies on four devices simultaneously, is to increase by €2 to €15.99.

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“We change our prices from time to time to reflect the significant investments we’ve made in new TV shows and films, as well as improvements to our product. Our basic membership will remain at the same price, ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy our content,” said a spokeswoman for Netflix.

Price rise

Netflix, which has 140 million subscribers globally, said this is the first price rise for Irish customers since October 2017.

The company now spends about $10 billion (€8.9 billion) per annum on content and in recent years has invested heavily in locally produced programmes, with more than 50 projects currently in production from the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Such projects include My Father’s Dragon, a new animated feature from Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon, which previously received an Oscar nomination for The Breadwinner.

Netflix faces increased competition however, not just from Amazon's Prime, but also from the likes of Apple, which is introducing its own streaming service shortly, and Disney, which recently closed a $71.3 billion deal for 21st Century Fox to create a behemoth which will be able to offer content including Star Wars, Avatar and The Simpsons.

Both Apple and Disney’s new services are scheduled to go live later this year, although it has yet to be confirmed when they will be available locally.