Netflix open on a laptop. Image: wutzkohphoto/Shutterstock
Netflix may be introducing its most expensive service tier yet with Ultra.
Video streaming behemoth Netflix is said to be testing a new high-tier service dubbed Ultra.
According to Italian source TuttoAndroid, the new tier would permit four devices to receive Ultra HD audio and video at the same time.
What is Netflix Ultra?
The Ultra tier has shown up for some European users. While €16.99 was the maximum price seen in Italy, the figure varies elsewhere. The existing plans are: Basic (€7.99), Standard (€10.99) and Premium (€13.99).
A company spokesperson, Smita Saran, confirmed the testing of the new tier to CNet. She said: “We continuously test new things at Netflix and these tests typically vary in length of time.
“In this case, we are testing slightly different price points and features to better understand how consumers value Netflix.”
Conflicting reports
According to some service users in Italy, promotional material they received says the Premium screen allowance of four would drop to two, but this has been disputed by other Italian Netflix account holders, who say the four-screen option will remain in Premium according to details they have seen.
The Ultra plan option may not be implemented broadly and, at the testing stage, not all users will automatically see it as an option.
Cordcutting.com spotted the plan in other European countries, including Germany. Depending on the browser used, the Ultra plan was priced at both €16.99 and €19.99 when the website was accessed in the country.
In October 2017, Netflix announced some price increases to plans in Ireland, seeing the Standard and Premium plans go up by €1 and €2, respectively. It was the first price increase announced by the streaming service since 2014.
By the end of 2017, Netflix had hit a record 117.6m subscribers around the world. Almost 6.4m new international subscribers were added in the final quarter of last year, along with more than 1.9m users from the US.
Netflix open on a laptop. Image: wutzkohphoto/Shutterstock
Updated, 1.18pm, 4 July 2018: This article was updated to clarify that €16.99 was the maximum price seen in Italy, not all of Europe.
