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Netflix might be preparing to introduce a fourth tier and in doing so could adjust the details of some of its exciting tiers. The new payment plan has so far been spotted in Italy and is currently labelled as Ultra. Building on the existing Basic, Standard, and Premium subscription plan options.
The details suggest that Ultra will become the new premium option with Premium dropping down a little in the hierarchy. As a result the price of the new Ultra plan will be €16.99 in Italy. Whether that will directly translate to $16.99 in the US remains to be seen, although the other plans in Italy are priced exactly the same as they are here, € for $. In either case, for the price, Ultra users will be able to take advantage of HDR and HD audio support, as well as access to four simultaneous streams. It’s this last aspect that may prove to have a knock-on effect for the other plans as at present the Premium plan already affords users four additional streams. Therefore, the suggestion is Premium may end up being downgraded to only offer two simultaneous streams.
It’s unclear how accurate the information is at present, as the initial report has provided some conflicting information on how this will impact on the Premium option going forward. For example, there are two screenshots below which are said to have be taken by users who have already been exposed to the plan changes, and while one of the images does indicate the new Ultra plan will offer four streams and the Premium plan only two streams, the other shows both Ultra and Premium plans offering four streams, and the Standard plan as the one that is being downgraded – from two streams to one. If both are accurate, then it may be the case that Netflix has yet to fully decide on how a new Ultra plan will impact on the existing plans. Not to mention, with this so far only having been noted in Italy, there is no guarantee that it will make it to other areas including in the US, let alone the rest of Europe.
