Netflix raises rates in Canada amid increased competition

Netflix is raising its subscription rates in Canada, even as the consumer choice streaming landscape gets more crowded.

A standard plan, which allows users to watch content on two screens at a time, will jump $3 to $13.99/month. Premium plan subscribers, who can watch up to four streams at a time in ultra HD 4K Video, will also pay $3 more at $16.99/month.

The basic plan, which doesn’t offer high-definition video and allows just one stream, will rise a dollar to $9.99/month.

Netflix says the higher prices will take effect immediately for new subscribers, while existing subscribers can expect an email notification.

The last Canadian price hike, of about a $1 per plan per month, was in Aug. 2017. Netflix says the move will help fund original content, in addition to platform improvements.

It comes amid increased competition, including Bell Media’s November rebrand of its new and improved Crave streaming service that saw the platform combine CraveTV’s offerings with The Movie Network (TMN) and HBO Canada.

Home to SHOWTIME and VICE programming, as well as a collection of TV series, movies and kids’ content from WOW! Unlimited Media, the service is available in two subscription tiers: Crave ($9.99/month plus applicable taxes) and Crave + Movies + HBO ($19.98/month plus tax).

The Criterion Collection also has plans to launch a standalone streaming service in the U.S. and Canada in spring 2019. The move follows WarnerMedia’s decision to shutter streaming service FilmStruck, which carried the Criterion library but wasn’t available in Canada. Subscription rates are currently listed at $10.99/month (USD).

Disney is gearing up to launch its Disney+ service next year which would see Hulu programming made available in Canada for the first time following Disney’s planned acquisition of Fox. Hulu is the third most popular streaming service in the world, trailing Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

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