Did you know that Netflix is paying $80 million to keep Friends on its streaming service through 2019?
It doesn’t really matter whether you did or not. In an effort to offset the $13 billion Netflix is spending to keep you entertained, the streaming giant is raising its prices in the U.S. by 13 percent to 18 percent over the next few months, according to a report from Fast Company.
This will be the largest price increase since Netflix started its streaming service in 2007, and it is the fourth time the company has raised its prices since being in business.
What does that mean for you?
You and all the people sharing your login information will now be on the hook for $13 a month if you currently pay for their high-definition streaming service— a $2 increase over the price you are currently paying now.
For those who pay for the very basic service, you will see your price go up from $8 to $9 a month.
Stephen A. Crockett Jr., senior editor here at The Root, believes this is Netflix’s way of getting all the people sharing passwords to kick in on the monthly subscription price.
“And now it’s feeling like we are going to have to give the person whose password we are using something on it,” he said. “Netflix is trying to shame us into kicking in.”
Or maybe Netflix is going to make the people who are sharing their passwords be a little stingier with them.
Either way, the price is going up. Way up.
Where do you stand on this? Will Netflix and Chill still be a thing? Let us know in the comments.