Netflix has announced plans to test out yet another price tier. The “Ultra” streaming plan will test the waters to see if audiences are willing to pay more for content in an HDR format, or to have access to four Ultra HD streams.
Netflix is testing two versions of the plan, but in both options, the Ultra choice will cost $16.99 USD per month. One version will offer four Ultra HD streams and drop the existing Premium plan (priced at $13.99 per month) down to two UHD streams. With the second option, both Premium and Ultra customers would have the ability to stream UHD content concurrently on four screens, but Ultra consumers would have the extra benefit of high dynamic range (HDR) content, which provides a more realistic picture than standard HD.
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Netflix has gone through a number of pricing changes over the past few years, as the popularity of the streaming service increased with audiences. In 2013, the company first introduced a four-screen option as a more expensive alternative to their existing two-screen plans. Just a year later, the packages were modified so customers wanting UHD content had to choose the higher-priced tier.
With the most recent price increase last fall, the two-screen Standard subscription option went up to $10.99/month, while the four-screen Premium option went up to $13.99/month. Netflix has confirmed the Ultra tests, but noted that only select customers will see the additional option. Depending on how the trial performs with this initial group, Netflix may or may not decide to roll out this plan to a wider group of customers. In either case, the streaming giant is sure to continue testing a variety of tiers and pricing options for its increasingly popular service.
(via Variety)