Netflix cracks 300 million plans - and asks for payment

Things are going well at Netflix. Unlike its competitors, the industry leader can hardly save itself from good news:

• Netflix exceeded 300 million subscribers worldwide for the first time in the last quarter (Q4 2024).
• This means that almost 19 million new plans were added in the same quarter.
• This is an even greater increase than at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when 15 million new plans were added in one quarter.

And that's not all:

• Netflix's revenue increased by 16 per cent compared to Q4 2023 to $10.2 billion.
• Profit more than doubled year-on-year from $938 million to $1.87 billion.

The successful fourth quarter is likely to be closely linked to the highly successful launch of the second season of "Squid Game". In less than three weeks, it has already become the third most-watched Netflix series of all time - only the first "Squid Game" season and "Wednesday" have been watched more often.

To celebrate, Netflix is raising its prices in the USA, Canada, Portugal and Argentina with immediate effect. For example, the standard subscription without adverts will rise to 17.99 US dollars in the USA and the premium subscription to 24.99 US dollars. If you're having déja vue, there's a good reason: price increases were already implemented in October 2023 after a record quarter.

Switzerland pays more - and it's likely to stay that way

It is not known if and when Switzerland and Germany will also be affected by the new price increases. However, it is probably only a matter of time. A comparison of the price development of Netflix's standard or premium subscription between Switzerland and the USA shows this

The price jumps in 2019, 2021 and 2024 are particularly striking and show that Netflix is adjusting its prices worldwide according to a clear strategy: profit maximisation. However, the fact that prices in the USA have risen more sharply than elsewhere in recent years is probably due to economic factors such as inflation and exchange rate developments.

In Switzerland, plans have always been more expensive in dollar terms. Among other things, this is probably due to the traditionally stronger purchasing power, which Netflix, like other suppliers, uses as a reason for higher prices.

What's next?

The trend so far makes it clear: further price increases are likely. Netflix justifies the latest price increases in the USA with the familiar argument of wanting to invest even more in content. The streaming giant wants to continue to deliver high-quality series, films and shows in order to fulfil the expectations of its paying customers - or at least test their patience if prices are also increased despite rising sales and profits.