During its financial results meeting yesterday, Netflix reminded its shareholders that the price-reduced grandfathered plans of long-time subscribers will be ending in 2016 (via Engadget). Grandfathered subscribers can choose to opt out of the imminent price hike, but it means they will lose access to HD quality streams.

Beginning in an undisclosed window of the second or third quarter of 2016, those members will be offered a choice: stay with the $7.99 price and get lowered to SD-quality video streaming, or upgrade to $9.99 per month to stick with HD-quality videos. Netflix introduced three new tiers for new members onto the service back in October, including the two previously mentioned $7.99 and $9.99 options, along with a "Premium" $11.99 tier that gives viewers access to 4K.

netflix 1
The first word regarding an incoming price increase for older Netflix users came nearly two years ago, so it might have been easy for grandfathered members to forget about the added money they'd have to pay to use the service in 2016. Still, Netflix calls its customers "loyal," and doesn't think the price jump will be a big deterrent for most grandfathered subscribers, especially thanks to the amount of original programming the service is producing this year.

"Given these members have been with us at least 2 years," the company points out, "we expect only slightly elevated churn. In 2016, we plan to launch over 600 hours of original programming, up from about 450 hours in 2015."

Similar to when it announced the two-year hold on price jumps for grandfathered accounts, the company is expected to send affected customers a warning email before the new charges begin.

Tag: Netflix

Top Rated Comments

clukas Avatar
94 months ago
$9.99 now -> $14.99 later -> $29.99 much later. When cable companies are gone and online streaming are the last remaining choices, well see prices rise to todays cable prices.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bladerunner2000 Avatar
94 months ago
Not really gradfathered now, is it?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AkuskaUK Avatar
94 months ago
Stopping VPN's and changing a grandfathered price? Oh Netflix... bad choices.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
94 months ago
the fact that we have 2016 and still have to pay extra for HD is just embarrassing and greedy and i am not just talking about Netflix
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chr1s60 Avatar
94 months ago
Netflix has stepped their game up with original programming but they still lack when it comes to newer movies. Continuing to raise prices better show improvement in that area or I will soon be canceling my subscription.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMember Avatar
94 months ago
Already cancelled my account!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
google bard

Google Opens Up Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Tuesday March 21, 2023 4:23 pm PDT by
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search. Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...