Netflix platform de streaming the most popular in Portugalwill raise prices on two of its national subscription models this Thursday. News, newspaper nominated to express, has been confirmed by PÚBLICO by a Netflix representative, and the new values are already shown in tables that combine Portuguese user accounts. The increase is one euro and two euros in the Standard and Premium modalities. The basic subscription price remains unchanged.
The Standard plan is priced between € 10.99 and € 11.99, and the Premium plan is priced from € 13.99 to € 15.99. Thus, the plans currently in force in Portugal are € 7.99 for the basic service, € 11.99 for the standard service and € 15.99 for the premium (different plans allow you to watch Netflix content simultaneously on multiple screens, the number of devices on which you can do downloads and even the presence of an HD or Ultra HD version).
This price change is justified as a reflection of “improvements” in the Netflix catalog and quality of service, according to a statement sent to PÚBLICO. “We continue to invest in great stories from Portugal and around the world to provide the best entertainment for all of our viewers – regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, belief or state of mind,” the spokesman said in the same memo. “Our price changes reflect this approach. We offer a range of plans so that people can choose the one that works best for them, ensuring that as many people as possible can enjoy our content. “
In practice, this price increase will gradually begin to make itself felt. Those who already have a Netflix account will receive information via email and the service app, and the price increases will be felt “over the next few weeks,” depending on each customer’s billing cycle. Netflix subscribers will now have to deal with the new table “immediately.”
The price increases come in the context of increased direct competition from Netflix in the international and national markets with the emergence of Disney + Where Apple TV +and continued competition from services such as Amazon’s Prime Video. At the same time and after 2020 rapid growth due to increase in subscriptions during a pandemic and related restrictions, Netflix is losing momentum in its growth – first half break in new subscriptions compared to last year (already atypical) and, for example, in the United States, he even lost subscribers.
The intention to raise prices for them has already been foreseen by market analysts, and this Portuguese rise is preceded by a rise in prices in Brazil, for example, in July. The bill for American subscribers also increased last year.
Netflix is a platform for streaming world leader, being market pioneer and also the one with the most followers in the world (209 million as of June 2021). In addition, like many other services of its kind, it is a heavily indebted publicly listed company that supports its multi-billion dollar investment in audiovisual production and technological development. When US prices rose in October 2020, Netflix’s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange rose more than 5%. Glory, first Portuguese TV series (co-produced by RTP and SP Televisão) for Netflix, is already in development and will complete production at the beginning of the year.
According to the latest data from Marktest, promoted first-hand in PUBLIC, 3.6 million Portuguese watch TV in streaming… Netflix, which is about to operate in Portugal for six years, is the leader in the national market, according to data compiled over the years by several research companies and the European Audiovisual Observatory. But as platforms for streaming do not disclose specific audience or subscriber data in each country, their exact number is not publicly known.
Netflix’s competitors in Portugal charge prices such as € 8.99 / month with Disney + (after the February increase), € 4.99 with HBO Portugal, or € 5.99 with Amazon Prime (including non-video services). Filmin offers two prices: for example, € 6.95 for the basic package or € 14.99 for the Plus.
