Netflix To Charge More For Streaming Ultra-HD 4K Content

Owners of 4K televisions who enjoy watching their favorite shows on Netflix in ultra high-definition should get ready to shell out some extra cash. The company will charge 50 percent more for streaming higher-resolution 4K content, which it says have become more expensive to acquire and distribute.

Netflix has increased its monthly subscription charges for streaming television shows and movies in ultra high-definition to $11.99 a month, Businessweek reported, adding that Netflix’s 4K service, which is still quite limited, is expected to increase its offerings in 2015 with new original shows such as Marco Polo and others.

“We’re very high on 4K, and I think 4K is around to stay. It’s one of those things, you can see the benefits,” Cliff Edwards, a Netflix spokesman, told Businessweek.

Netflix’s 4K streaming content currently includes Sony’s newer film releases, Breaking Bad, NBC’s The Blacklist and Netflix’s own shows. The company first announced in May that its original series, House of Cards, would be streamed in the higher-definition 4K format, offering nearly four times the resolution of current high-definition TVs.

According to Netflix, the latest price increase will not immediately affect existing subscribers -- already paying for 4K content -- as they will be “grandfathered” into the older $7.99 a month plan until Aug. 12, 2016, HD Guru reported, adding that the new 4K plan allows up to four devices to stream content simultaneously.

Consumers who would buy a new 4K TV this holiday season will have to pay the new pricing of $11.99 for ultra high-definition content, or watch plain old HD.