Netflix hikes prices for Blu-ray rental

by Stevie Smith - Mar 31 2009, 15:00

With the price of popular music tracks on Apple’s iTunes Store set to increase by around 30 percent from April 07, movie and TV service Netflix has become the latest entertainment provider to hike its prices despite the possibility of upsetting customers in these times of recession.

Specifically, California-based Netflix announced on Monday that subscribers looking to rent Blu-ray movie discs through its postal distribution system will need to pay an additional 20 percent each month as of April 27.

While the price increase does not bleed into the rental of traditional DVD discs, Netflix customers who rent three Blu-ray movies at a time will see an extra $4 USD added to their current monthly fee of $17 USD, reports the L.A. Times.

As for Netflix’s explanation for the price rise, chief executive officer Reed Hastings has said the higher rental prices will enable Netflix to remain in step with growing customer demand by carrying more physical copies of movies on Sony’s HD format.

Hastings was also keen to note that high-definition content “comes at a premium” on similar entertainment platforms available in the marketplace and that the rental price increase merely helps bring Netflix “into alignment” with those competing services.

Blu-ray presently accounts for around 10 percent of all Netflix movie rentals and the amount of movie titles the service now offers has risen to 1,300 since the tail end of 2008, which equates to a jump of some 60 percent.

Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter.

The Tech Herald: Apple set to increase iTunes Store prices

The Tech Herald: Netflix rides the recession alongside Xbox 360

The Tech Herald: Netflix joins with Samsung to offer Blu-ray streaming

Around the Web