Price hike coming for some longtime Netflix subscribers

Netflix customers who have been subscribers for two years or more might have to pay $2 per month more later this year, although the price hike should come as no surprise.

In a letter to investors Tuesday, Hastings said the company would be “releasing a substantial number of our US members from price grandfathering” plan during the second and third quarters of this year.

Subscribers will then have another decision: keep paying the basic $7.99 per month plan, which includes unlimited movies and TV shows, but only in SD resolution on one device at a time, or go to a $9.99 per month standard plan that includes HD video on two devices.

Netflix this month expanded service from 60 to 190 countries and continues to pour money into programming to lure new subscribers, including original shows like “Orange is the New Black.”