Netflix is hitting South Africa with its first price increase

Streaming giant Netflix will be increasing the local price of two of its subscription tiers starting immediately.

According to TechCentral, the price of the standard plan will increase from R140p/m to R160p/m and the premium plan will increase from R170p/m to R200p/m. The price of the mobile and basic plan will remain the same at R50p/m and R100p/m respectively.

While these increases may seem like a lot on paper, a nearly 15% and 20% increase for the standard and premium plans respectively, Netflix still manages to bring a great value proposition to the table. 

Netflix is hot and it knows it

The company said the increases were not a result of the changes to the value of the rand but rather that they “reflect improvements to our catalogue of movies and shows and the quality of our service”. Which, let’s be honest, is a pretty fair statement. It’s also worth noting that this is the first time Netflix has increased prices since it officially launch the service in South Africa back in 2016.

As for when members can expect their increase, Netflix said, “Members will be notified through e-mail and will also receive a notification within the app 30 days ahead of their price increase. Timing will be based on the specific member’s billing cycle and will be rolled out over the course of the next few months.”