Netflix raises prices to offset flatlining sub growth
Netflix announced this week that they are raising prices in the US and Canada. The announcement came a couple days before the company released lack luster Q4 subscriber numbers. Indeed, growth has slowed in North America. As such, subscribers in the region will now be paying an extra $1-2, depending on their plan, which will start at $9.99 for the standard plan and up to $19.99 for the premium plan. The price hike is immediate for new subscribers and will be phased in for existing customers. The last price hike in the region was October 2020.
The NPD Take:
- SVOD adoption has matured and most U.S. households who want Netflix already have it. The key will be to maintain subscriber retention in the presence of increased competition.
- While increasing prices will help to offset slower sub growth and increased content expenses, the price is well above competitors. During 2022 we will see if customer start to rationalizing Netflix and swap it for other services.
Sling TV now available on Vizio TV
In a new partnership with Vizio, the Sling TV app is now available on the SmartCast home screen. Sling TV offers Vizio customers the ability to watch live TV with a subscription. Vizio has been making more over-the-top apps available on SmartCast to ensure the services customers use are easily accessible and continue to provide value for their TVs.
The NPD Take:
- By partnering with Vizio, Sling TV increases its available addressable market for its live streaming TV service. The app now reaches 74.8m U.S. TV-connected device households.
- For Vizio, the partnership adds further value to their SmartTVs while also providing another reason for customers to engage with the built-in app center, SmartCast.
YouTube ends original content production
Google’s six-year-old original video content group, YouTube Originals, has been shut down. YouTube originally created the group to support its own streaming service, YouTube Red, however that service was cancelled after a few years. In turn, the company will shift to support funding programs for Black and Kids content and focus on their ad-revenue sharing partner program.
The NPD Take:
- Making originals is costly and YouTube has seen better success from partnering with other content creators and sharing ad-revenues.