Netflix on Monday excitedly announced a new streaming-only, DVD-less plan, and then, while staring down at the floor, quietly murmured something about a price hike for all other plans.
First, the good news. Netflix will now offer an $8 per month plan which allows for unlimited streaming of movies and TV episodes to your computer, TV, iPad, TiVo, Roku, Apple TV, toaster, or any other Netflix-compatibile device. This new plan, available now, finally allows U.S. Netflix customers to stop envying our Canadian cousins up north.
But Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away. Specifically, it taketh away from your wallet. In addition to introducing the new streaming-only plan, the company is raising its rates for all of its DVD-inclusive subscriptions. The two most popular plans—which allow for one or two DVDs at a time in addition to instant streaming—will go up by $1 per month. Other plans are raising in price by one dollar for each DVD you may keep at a time; that is, the 5 DVD plan’s cost is increasing by $5 from $30 to $35.
New Netflix subscribers will need to pony up the extra scratch starting today. If you already have a Netflix account, you get a reprieve from the higher rates until January.