What you need to know
- Netflix was seen scaling back its subscription plans in over 30 countries.
- The move comes after a recent CEO change in January.
- These include countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The US appears to be unaffected.
After a major shift in its business model late last year and a recent CEO change this year, Netflix reportedly made some changes to its subscription pricing in several regions.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Netflix has quietly canceled changes to its tier plans in more than 30 countries in recent weeks. Some plans are said to have had their prices cut in half, but the change seems to vary by region.
The WSJ reports that prices have been cut in Middle Eastern countries such as Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran. It seems that the price cuts have also been made in African regions such as Kenya and European regions such as Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
The list continues with Latin American countries — Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
The report further indicates that the move contrasts with what Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said in the company’s January earnings call. As Peters noted, they were looking for regions where they could raise tier prices, not lower them.
Analysts suggest the decline in plans bucks a trend seen by other competitors who have been steadily increasing prices for plans, at least in the United States, in recent months.
According to a Netflix spokesperson for the WSJ report, Netflix is updating the pricing of its plans in each country to give users an experience that goes beyond the streaming platform’s exception. “We know our members have no better choice when it comes to entertainment,” she added.
In fact, Netflix’s recent move appears to be motivated by the company’s increasing competition from streaming services like HBO Max, Disney+ and Apple TV+. Netflix is considered one of the most popular services, but increased competition has forced the service to make significant changes. As a result, Netflix is the first on its platform to introduce new cost-effective plans that include users paying a lower fee in favor of watching ads.
The company also recently set new guidelines for accounts and started charging users for “sub-accounts” or members of accounts that aren’t members of the same household.
