Netflix Raises Standard Plan Monthly Fee to $19.99
"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:Among the notable new streaming content this weekend is the first episode of season five of Apple TVscience fiction series "For All Mankind." Meanwhile, Disney+subscribers can catch the new season of superhero series "Daredevil: Born Again," while Netflixusers can watch horror miniseries "Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen," starring Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco.NETFLIX PRICE HIKE:A Netflix "Plans and Pricing" page for the United States seen on Thursday shows that its Standard with ads plan will now be priced at $8.99 per month and its Standard plan is priced at $19.99 per month. Previously, the cost for Standard with ads was $7.99 per month and the Standard plan was $17.99 per month. Commenting on the change, TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge estimated tha the increases across tiers represent an 11% on average across the product suite. The firm added that these could flow through to existing users in the coming months.Meanwhile, Citi said it expects Netflix will likely raise its fiscal 2026 outlook on higher prices and less acquisition expenses, adding that it sees the company reporting a "modest beat and raise" quarter on April 16 due to help from currency moves. Additionally, JPMorgan believes the price increases could translate to an additional $1.7B in annualized revenue off the 2025 base. While the price increase cane earlier than expected, much of the increase is already factored into Netflix's 2026 revenue guidance, the analyst told investors in a research note. JPMorgan added that it does not expect the increases to result in material headwinds to engagement, conversion, or retention.DISNEY:Disney plans to exit the agreement it signed with Microsoft-backedOpenAI last year as the ChatGPT maker plans to shut down its Sora AI video generation app, a source familiar with the matter told The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin. The media giant had pledged to invest $1B in OpenAI as part of the deal, and also agreed to license some of its characters for use in Sora, the author noted.Following that reporting, Bloomberg's Christopher Palmeri and Thomas Buckley noted that new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro has already seen two billion-dollar technology bets falter within one week into his new job at the company. In addition to Disney's exit from its Sora deal, Epic Games recently announced it was laying off 1,000 employees after new versions of its video game "Fortnite" failed to connect to fans, with Bloomberg noting that Disney made a $1.5B investment in Epic two years ago.CBS SPORTS/WNBA:Paramount'sCBS Sports and the WNBA announced on Wednesday that they have expanded their seven-year partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. Under the enhanced package, CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season games annually on the CBS Television Network and streaming live on Paramount+. CBS Sports will present 20 regular-season games for the upcoming 2026 season, marking the Network's most ever WNBA games on broadcast television. "The WNBA's growth and cultural impact have never been stronger, and CBS Sports is proud to deepen our longstanding partnership with a league that continues to drive the evolution of women's sports," said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. "With our entire schedule of games on broadcast television, we are broadening the league's reach and amplifying the WNBA's momentum with best-in-class coverage that reflects the excellence of its athletes and resonates with fans."ROKU/AMAZON:Rokuannounced the launch of Howdy, its ad-free subscription video-on-demand streaming service, as a subscription on Amazon'sPrime Video in the U.S. for $2.99 per month. "Our goal has always been to make great entertainment more accessible," said Gil Fuchsberg, President of Subscriptions, Partnerships and Corporate Development at Roku. "Howdy offers quality content with no ads for just $2.99 a month, making it a superb value and an ideal complement to other subscriptions. We're pleased with the response we've seen from our viewers and partners since launch. Expanding to Prime Video builds on our momentum and furthers our mission to deliver an ad-free streaming experience at a price that makes it easy for audiences everywhere to enjoy content they love."STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the space include Comcast, FuboTV, AMC Networks, and Fox.
