Netflix Cuts Prices in More Than 30 Countries

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Netflix Cuts Prices in More Than 30 Countries

How much is a Netflix subscription? Throw a dart at a world map and the answer will differ.

Despite raising prices in its bigger markets, Netflix has actually cut subscription costs – sometimes by more than half – in roughly three dozen countries and territories, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The move comes as the streaming market has become officially oversaturated.

57,000 Channels (And Nothin’ On)

Netflix and long-time rival Hulu used to be in a league of their own, but now they’re facing competition from the likes of HBO Max, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, and many more. If you’re a parent of young children, you pretty much have to have Disney+. Also, there are free services like Tubi and Vudu, which actually offer some decent films and TV series if you don’t mind commercial breaks.

And even though Netflix is cutting prices to stay competitive in a few parts of the world, it’s doing the exact opposite — and then some — in other areas. At the start of 2022, the company that put the N in FAANG raised its base monthly subscription by a dollar in the US, and it recently began rolling out paid-sharing much to the chagrin of Canadians, Spaniards, and New Zealanders who will now need to pay extra to watch Emily in Paris at a friend’s house:

  • Netflix operates in more than 190 nations, and some of the countries seeing price reductions include Yemen, Kenya, Croatia, Ecuador, and the Philippines – places all around the world, so the strategy hasn’t been isolated to just one region. And those price cuts range between 20% and 60% for the base tier. Sorry, America, you’re still on the hook for the full $9.99 each month.
  • Netflix’s cost of doing business has gone way up, especially now that nearly 50% of its content is original. And though it has more paying subscribers than ever at roughly 230 million, the company recently had its first dip in net income since 2015, prompting co-founder Reed Hastings to step down as chief executive last month.

“We know members have never had more choices when it comes to entertainment,” a Netflix rep told the WSJ, mastering understatement.

The Sweet Spot: Netflix hasn’t jumped on the live sports bandwagon just yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interested in sports. Drive to Survive remains one of its most popular docuseries and got more viewers interested in Formula 1 racing. Now, Netflix is trying to recreate that magic yet again with Full Swing, a show about the lives of professional golfers on and off the course. WSJ’s Jason Gay wrote, “If you’ve ever thought, ‘The only thing better than watching people play golf is watching people talk about playing golf,’ then this is the series for you, my friends.”