Netflix has gone and increased its subscription prices in the U.K. and Ireland, following a previous increase 18 months ago. 

The cost of Netflix’s Standard plan has risen from £9.99 to £10.99 a month for U.K. viewers, while those in Ireland will now pay €14.99, up from €12.99 before. 

As for the non-HD Basic plan, this has risen to £6.99 a month in the U.K., up from £5.99 before. In Ireland, the cost rises from €7.99 to €8.99. 

Lastly, Netflix’s HD and 4K Premium Plan has gone up by £2 to £15.99 a month in the U.K., and by €2, to €19.99 in Ireland. 

Notably, this is the first time Netflix has increased its prices across the board and it has already gone into effect for new subscribers. Existing subscribers will at least get 30 days notice via an email, depending on their billing cycle. 

Netflix said the increased price will enable it to continue pouring investments into “best in class U.K. productions” and offer a wide variety of “curated quality shows and films”. 

With around 14 million subscribers in the U.K. and an additional 600,000 in Ireland, the price increase means Netflix will collect an additional £15 million a month in subscription fees. 

Even so, that is but a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of money the streaming giant spends on acquiring and producing content. In 2020 it spent upwards of $1 billion, producing original series such as The Crown, plus Oscar-nominated films such as The Power of the Dog. 

What with rising inflation, Netflix’s cost increases can perhaps be justified. The service is also notably facing increased competition in the video streaming space from the likes of Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max, to name just a few. Netflix has responded by launching its first video games and it has also promised to set the bar for its competitors by launching one new original film each week throughout this year. 

If the increased costs are too much to bear, there may be some relief forthcoming, at some point in future. Earlier this month, Netflix Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann said the company has not completely ruled out the idea of introducing a less expensive, ad-supported tier for subscribers at some point. Though the company has no plans to do so now, the admission is something of a U-turn, as Netflix has always voiced strong opposition to any suggestion it might introduce ads.