Netflix price increases for South Africa

Video streaming service Netflix has increased the prices of two of its plans in South Africa.

The price of the popular Standard plan has gone up by R20 — from R139 to R159 per month.

Its top-end Premium subscription is R30 more expensive — increasing from R169 to R199 per month.

Prices for the entry-level Mobile and budget-oriented Basic plans will remain the same at R49 and R99, respectively.

Netflix said the increases to Standard and Premium would roll out to existing members over the coming weeks. The increased prices will apply to any new members immediately.

Existing members will be notified by email and within the Netflix app a month before the new prices are applied to them, the company said.

The table below summarises the old and new pricing for Netflix subscriptions in South Africa.

It is the first time Netflix has increased prices on its plans in South Africa since its global launch in January 2016.

Initially, a Basic plan cost $7.99 (R126 at the time), a Standard subscription was priced at $9.99 (R158 at the time), and Premium would set you back $11.99 (or about R190 at the time).

Netflix started billing South Africans in rand during August 2018, which saw a decrease in pricing for Basic and Standard based on the prevailing exchange rate, while Premium remained about the same.

At the new prices, the Basic plan will remain cheaper than at launch, Standard will only be R1 more expensive, and Premium will be R9 more expensive.

A Netflix spokesperson said the price changes were necessary to reflect improvements to its catalogue of movies and shows, as well as the quality of its service.

“Our number one focus is providing an entertainment experience that exceeds members’ expectations,” the spokesperson said.

The company explained it added more local and international movies, series and shows to its library — both original content and great licensed content — every week. 

Netflix has also introduced several features since its local launch, including:

• Play Something — A Shuffling feature to help viewers find something to watch quickly. 
• More Parental Controls — New tools to control what children can watch. 
• Smart Downloads — Automatically deletes an episode when you finish watching and downloads the next episode to watch so you don’t need to use mobile data when away from your Wi-Fi connection.

Netflix said it believed its customers understood the value it delivered in its investments in new movies and shows.

It also highlighted some of its significant achievements, investments, and plans in South Africa.

In 2020, it launched multiple new South African series and various Made in South Africa films, including Queen Sono, Blood & Water, How To Ruin Christmas, Seriously Single, Riding With Sugar, 8, Kings of Joburg, Santana, and My Octopus Teacher.

More than twenty South African projects—films, series, and documentaries—are going into production or launching on the service this year.

These include I Am All Girls, Loyiso Gola’s Unlearning, JIVA!, Blood & Water Season 2, How to Ruin Christmas Season 2, Trippin’ with the Kandasamys, and Dead Places.

New South African content includes Happiness Ever After; and Young, Famous & African.