Netflix eyes extra content

Netflix aims to increase its subscription rates to allow it to acquire more content, after posting profits of US$53m during the first quarter of 2014.

The US-based streaming service said it is planning to up its rates by “one or two dollars” across the 41 territories in which it operates, with the rise set to be levied on new members later this year.

Existing members will pay their current subscription for the next one to two years, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said.

He added that the increase would enable it to acquire more content and deliver a better streaming experience, having put the firm’s recent profit rise down to its original programming push, which has included dramas such as Orange Is The New Black and House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey.

Netflix also claims to have added 2.25 million new customers during the three months to the end of March, to take its global membership to 48 million.

Hastings also said the company wanted its subscriber numbers to start catching up with those of its US cable rival HBO.

In a letter to shareholders, he said: “We are approaching 50 million global members, but that is far short of HBO’s 130 million. We are eager to close the gap.”

The announcements helped the company’s share price rise by more than 6% in after-hours trading.

Netflix also confirmed its opposition to Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The comments came after the VoD service began paying new fees to Comcast to enable faster delivery of its shows.

“Comcast is already dominant enough to be able to capture unprecedented fees from transit providers and services such as Netflix,” Hastings said. “The combined company would possess even more anti-competitive leverage to charge arbitrary interconnection tolls for access to their customers.”

In response, Comcast said: “There has been no company that has had a stronger commitment to openness of the internet than Comcast.”