Netflix will raise prices for new subscribers by $1 or $2

Netflix will be raising prices for new subscribers, CEO Reed Hastings said in a letter to shareholders released today.

“Our current view is to do a one or two dollar increase, depending on the country, later this quarter for new members only,” Hastings wrote.

Current subscribers, which I’m guessing includes the majority of people reading this article, shouldn’t have anything to worry about for now. The company indicated that existing Netflix members within the U.S. should be able to keep the $8-per-month pricing that hasn’t changed in years.

Still, we don’t know how long current subscribers will be able to keep the old pricing at this point — with Hastings saying the old pricing would stay in effect for “a generous time period.”

Hastings said the price increase will allow the company to acquire more content and continue producing original series like House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, and others.

At $9 or $10 per month, that would make Netflix more expensive than Hulu Plus but still less expensive than services like HBO, which require you to spend $15 per month on top of your regular cable or satellite TV bill.

Netflix is hosting a live video conference to discuss its Q1 2014 earnings later today. We’ll be watching to see what else Hastings and other Netflix execs have to say about the pricing change.