A Netflix spokesperson told MyBroadband that while they are busy testing different packages and prices, South African subscribers will not be experiencing any price hikes.
Netflix currently offers three subscription plans in South Africa. The basic tier is at R129.99 a month, the mid-tier offering is at R164.99 monthly and the top-end option costs R199.99 a month. In the USA, the Basic tier runs for $7.99 per month and allows users to stream content to a single screen, while Standard ($10.99) allows for two screens and Premium ($13.99) allows four.
The streaming company recently tested an Ultra Tier in Italy which was €16.99 per month, which allows up to four devices to stream simultaneously using the same account. This offer also allows video quality of up to UHD, and supports high dynamic range.
The Premium package, priced at €13.99, previously supported up to four simultaneous devices and UHD video but this has changed to two. The Standard package now only allows streaming on one device.
Last year, the company announced plans to increase the prices of its Premium and Standard packages but confirmed this week that it will not increase prices in South Africa.
Meanwhile, South African pay-TV operator Multichoice is still adamant that streaming services like Netflix need to be regulated even though they continue to charge high prices. In the last financial year, Multichoice lost more than 100 000 premium subscribers and has lost a further 40 000 subscribers to date because of online streaming competition. People took to Twitter to respond to Multichoice CEO Calvo Mawela’s call for regulation.
When it rains, it pours:
MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela blamed an unregulated Netflix for their lost of more than 100,000 subscribers in the last financial year, and an additional 40,000 in this cycle.
For how long did Multichoice think they would have a continental monopoly? https://t.co/DbYJNUGwrH
— Sura Mbaya (@surambaya) July 12, 2018
Clearly, Multi Choice still think they can use their ANC connections to maintain their monopoly . Calvo Mawela , CEO of DSTV , is the husband of Gwede Mantashe's daughter . Before Multi Choice worked through Faith Muthambi and the Guptas to influence ANC broadcast policy .
— Daniel Sutherland (@IamUncaptured) July 13, 2018
How Calvo Mawela has survived as Multichoice CEO bothers me, a business which has had an abusive monopoly should not call for its disruptive competitor to be regulated finish and klaar
— Matthew Atmore (@mattymore) July 14, 2018