Netflix

Netflix has issued the first details of its expected price hike, intended to help fund the company's expansion.

New UK customers will pay an extra £1 per month above what current subscribers pay, with prices in Europe increasing by €1. The pricing change in the United States was not immediately revealed, but Netflix later got in touch to confirm that the US price will increase by $1 to $8.99.

The good news is that if you already subscribe to Netflix, you won't have to pay anything extra for 24 months. In an email sent to UK Netflix customersFriday, the red-hued streaming service said, "As a thank you for being a member of Netflix already, we guarantee that your plan and price will not change for two years."

The increase means that new customers (or existing customers still subscribed in two years' time) will pay £6.99 per month for Netflix, or €8.99 in mainland Europe.

Netflix is a streaming service that, for a fee, will pump TV and movies onto your TV, smartphone or computer via your Internet connection. The service competes with the likes of Apple TV, and has invested in making its own exclusive shows, such as the sinister, Kevin Spacey-starring , pictured above.

The company had foreshadowed the price increase last month when it announced its earnings results for the first quarter. At that time, CEO Reed Hastings said that most of the revenue gains resulting from the higher prices would help to fund Netflix's budget for content. "If we want to continue to expand ... we have to eventually increase prices a little bit," he said.

New price options

Netflix says it will be offering a more modest streaming package, available at the old price. This £5.99 option restricts your streaming resolution to standard definition, and only lets you stream to one screen at a time. For £8.99 you can stream to four screens in "Super HD". New price options are also expected to launch in the US.

We'll update this story when we hear more about the global price changes. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the price increase in the comments below.

Update 4:54 am PT: Added details of the price increase for US subscribers.