Things are going well for Netflix, so well that the company plans on thanking their subscribers with a price hike.

The company announced plans to raise the pricing an additional $1 to $2 per month in the near future.

The good news for current subscribers is that they won’t see their rates change, at least not immediately. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in an interview on Monday that persons already using the service can expect to continue to pay $8 per month for about the next year.

Persons who are new subscribers will be hit with the price hike immediately. Within a year or so, it’s believed that pricing will be uniform for all Netflix users.

The rise in pricing was announced following a strong first quarter for the company.

Netflix to raise monthly prices for new subscribers http://t.co/ie7eAIQOD6 pic.twitter.com/NSp9wouhfc

— CP24 (@CP24) April 22, 2014

Raising the prices of the people responsible for those strong quarter figures is a move that some would see as rather unnecessary.

Not so, according to Netflix.

The company said that they’ll need the extra income to pay for exciting changes they intend to bring to their subscribers.

Hastings told The Associated Press that they “want to make the service better and better so more people will join”.

He also shared that the bigger budget will allow the company to be able to stream even more quality shows and movies.

Netflix will need bigger and better shows and movies if it wishes to compete against traditional cable and the increasingly competitive Amazon Prime.

Netflix has announced a price increase. I hope the people whose accounts I 'borrow' aren't impacted too severely.

— caprice crane (@capricecrane) April 21, 2014

The company sees the price hike as an inevitable part the process. They simply hope that customers will see it their way and hold tight to their subscriptions.

Do you think a Netflix price hike is unreasonable or perfectly necessary with all things considered? Comment below!

Image via Wikimedia Commons