Netflix confirms $1 subscription price increase, adds documentaries to original content

Add the number 1 to Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) subscription prices, no matter which country you're in: the subscription video on demand (SVOD) provider confirmed that it will raise rates by $1 in the United States, £1 in the United Kingdom, and €1 in the European Union countries it currently serves.

The price increase will apply only to new subscribers, at least for the next two years. After that, existing subs will see their bill increase as well.

New subscribers will pay $8.99 per month in the U.S. for Netflix's standard service, which streams HD, SD and some 4K content to viewers. In the UK, subs will pay £6.99 ($11.78) per month, and EU customers will shell out the highest amount when exchange rates are factored in, €8.99 ($12.37 US), CNET reported.

A lower-price option is available to new subscribers as well. For $7.99, users get an SD-only video stream to just one screen at a time, Netflix said.

Meantime, Netflix appears to be making good on its commitment to invest more in original content. The Associated Press reported that the provider inked deals for four exclusive documentaries, marking its entry into the documentary-production space.

The first documentary, "Battered Bastards of Baseball," will premiere on July 11, followed by "Mission Blue," which details marine biologist Sylvia Earle, on Aug. 15. "E-Team" and "Print the Legend" will follow later this year.

Netflix acquired its first documentary, "The Square," in November 2013, and commissioned its first original "docuseries," the four-part Russell Peters vs. The World, in September of the same year.

For more:
CNET has this story
- AP has this story
- Netflix has this blog post

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