Netflix Might Get More Expensive At Weekends

Netflix may be the first place we go for our nightly entertainment fix, but that doesn’t mean we’re willing to cough up for the streaming service ourselves. Instead, many of us opt to watch via a friend, partner or parent’s account.

In the UK, Netflix currently costs between £5.99 and £8.99 a month, depending on your plan, but if a trial taking place in Australia is anything to go by, it could be about to get more expensive for those who sign up on weekends. Bad luck if you end up being the designated payer.

The company raised prices by up to $3 AUD a month for a number of users as part of the test, The Australian reported. The cost of the Basic plan rose from $8.99 to $9.99 a month, the Standard plan went from $11.99 to $13.99 and the Premium plan increased from $14.99 to $17.99.

It seems to be a similar technique to that used by hotels, train companies and flight operators, which often increase prices during times of high demand.

However, it’s easy to avoid the price hike – users can simply sign up during the week if they know they’re going to want to use the service during the weekend. It's all about the forward planning, people.

Netflix hasn’t revealed any of its findings or confirmed whether it will roll out the trial to other countries. “We continuously test new things at Netflix and these tests typically vary in length of time,” a spokesman for Netflix said.

“In this case, we are testing slightly different price points to better understand how con­sumers value Netflix. Not everyone will see this test and we may not ever offer it generally.” Here's hoping the service takes pity on those poor designated Netflix payers.

Update, 18th May – Another Netflix spokesperson told us the price testing, "varies in length and time and the fact that some members saw this test on a weekend is completely unrelated. This test is limited to Australia only".