Although Netflix is the world’s most popular streaming service, the company has recently slashed its prices in some regions of the world to ward off competition amid a cost of living crisis.
Over 30 countries in areas such as Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East are included in Netflix’s plan. According to a spokesperson from the streamer (via the BBC), “Members have never had more choices when it comes to entertainment. We’re always exploring ways to improve our members’ experience. We can confirm that we are updating the pricing of our plans in certain countries.”
In some areas, subscription prices have fallen by half. Specific price plans have been affected, depending on location. No changes have been made to UK or US prices, even though these areas also face a rising cost of living crisis.
Netflix has lowered its prices in countries such as Venezuela, Malaysia, Iran, Croatia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Kenya. Increased competition to the streaming giant comes from Disney+, HBO and Amazon, despite Netflix’s dominance in over 190 countries.
Over the past year, the streaming service has attempted to crack down on password sharing, ensuring that users aren’t handing out their user credentials to people not paying for a subscription. Netflix estimated that over 100 million users share their accounts, which has resulted in a hit to its revenues. In turn, Netflix have been less able to invest in new content.
During the first half of 2022, the streamer’s subscriber numbers dropped, losing over one million users between April and June, which led them to cut hundreds of jobs. However, by the end of the year, numbers had dramatically increased, partly aided by the popularity of original releases such as Wednesday, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Harry & Meghan.
Greg Peters, Netflix’s co-chief executive, outlined a plan to increase users in January: “We want to make that spectrum even wider as we seek to serve more members around the world and trying to deliver appropriate value at those different price points.”
