By Andrea Hargraves 
Netflix, D Dashboard flow The most popular in PortugalStarting Thursday, prices for two of the subscription models will increase for local users. the news, Submitted by the newspaper expression for, was confirmed for PÚBLICO by a Netflix spokesperson and the new values are already shown in tables that integrate Portuguese user accounts. The increase is one euro and two euros in the standard and premium methods. The basic subscription fee remains unchanged.
The price for the Standard plan ranges from €10.99 to €11.99 and the Premium plan from €13.99 to €15.99. The plans currently in effect in Portugal are €7.99 for the basic service, €11.99 for the standard and €15.99 for the premium (different plans allow you to watch Netflix content on more than one screen at the same time, as many devices as you can do Downloads and even HD or Ultra HD version available).
This price change was justified as a reflection of “improvements” in the Netflix catalog and in the 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, race, beliefs or state of mind,” a company spokesperson said on the same note. “Our pricing changes reflect this approach. We offer a range of plans so people can choose the plan that works best for them, ensuring that as many people as possible can enjoy our content.”
In practice, this price increase will gradually start to take effect. Those who already have a Netflix account will receive information via email and in the service app and price increases will appear “over the next few weeks” – it depends on each customer’s billing cycles. Netflix subscribers will now deal with the new schedule “immediately”.
The price increase comes in a context in which direct competition from Netflix has increased in the international and national market, with the birth of Disney + where + Apple TVand ongoing competition from services like Amazon’s Prime Video. At the same time, after 2020 from Blazing to grow Because Increase subscriptions during the pandemic And its own booking, Netflix lost momentum in its growth – the first half of Break in new subscriptions Compared to the previous year (really unusual) and in the United States, for example, it lost subscribers.
Market analysts have already anticipated the intention to increase their prices, and this Portuguese rise was preceded by an increase in prices in Brazil, for example, in July. In the past year, the bill for American subscribers has also gone up.
Netflix is the platform for flow A worldwide leader Market leader And also the most subscribers globally (209 million as of June 2021). It is also, like many other services of its kind, a publicly listed company with significant debt that fuels its billions in investments in audiovisual production and technological development. When prices rose in the US in October 2020, Netflix’s stock price rose more than 5% on the New York Stock Exchange. Glory, First Portuguese series (co-produced by RTP and SP Televisão) for NetflixAlready in preparation, production was completed at the beginning of the year.
According to recent data from Marktest, submitted directly to PUBLIC, 3.6 million watched Portuguese TV in flow. Netflix, which is about to complete six years in Portugal, is the leader in the national market, according to data collected over the years by several market research firms and a European audiovisual observatory. but as platforms flow Do not disclose the data of a specific audience or subscriber in each country, their exact number is not known to the public.
Netflix’s Portugal competitors charge prices like €8.99 a month from Disney+ (after an increase in February), €4.99 from HBO Portugal, or €5.99 from Amazon Prime (which includes non-video-only services). Filmin has two prices, €6.95 for the Basic package or 14.99 for Plus, for example.