Netflix raising U.S. streaming prices amid booming growth

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Netflix is raising most of its U.S. prices by 8% to 13% as its video streaming service rides a wave of rising popularity spurred by government-imposed lockdowns that corralled people at home during the fight against the pandemic.

The increases imposed Friday boost the cost of Netflix's most popular U.S. streaming plan by $1 to $14 per month while a premium plan that allows more people to watch the service on different screens simultaneously will now cost $2 more at $18 per month. Netflix's basic U.S. plan remains at $9 per month. It marks Netflix's first price changes in the U.S. since an increase rolled out early last year.

New U.S. subscribers will be charged the higher prices immediately while the increases will affect existing customers in phases during the next few months. Netflix ended September with 73 million subscribers in U.S. and Canada, with the overwhelming majority located in the U.S.

The move had been widely expected after Netflix raised its prices in Canada earlier this month and then ended free 30-month trials in the U.S.

Netflix's price hike comes amid a surge in worldwide growth as efforts to contain the novel coronavirus closed down restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues. The Los Gatos, California, company gained 28 million worldwide subscribers during the first nine months of the year, already eclipsing its growth for the entire year of 2019. This year's subscriber increases included an additional 5.4 million customers in the U.S. and Canada.

But the price increases may test the bounds of Netflix's popularity, especially if the pandemic-driven recession deepens and forces more U.S. households to curtail their spending.

After Netflix raised its U.S. prices early last year, the streaming service suffered a decline of 130,000 subscribers in the U.S. and...