MILLIONS of households have been hit by yet more news of streaming bill hikes, this time from Netflix.
The popular streaming platform, home to hits such as Squid Game and The Crown, has announced that subscription prices are rising by up to £2.

Standard plan subscribers face the steepest rise, with monthly fees jumping from £10.99 to £12.99.
Meanwhile, the premium plan, Netflix‘s most expensive offering, will see a £1 increase, bringing the total monthly cost to £18.99.
Even the cheapest ad-supported plan isn’t spared, rising by £1 from £4.99 to £5.99 per month.
Streamers increasing prices has become a routine occurrence much like traditional satellite or cable TV bills.
But there is an easy trick for telly lovers to help cut costs drastically – and you could save up to £95.88 a year if you ditch your separate Netflix plan and bundle it within your TV package.
Lyndsey Burton, managing director of Choose.co.uk, said: “Prices for Netflix are rising, but savvy consumers can save by opting for a TV and broadband bundle with Netflix included at no extra cost.
“Sky, Virgin Media, and EE TV all offer packages with Netflix making this one of the cheapest way to add Netflix to a pay TV bundle.”
As an example, millions of Sky TV customers now get Netflix’s cheapest ad-supported plan included in their package.
This includes customers subscribed to Sky’s Essential TV package, which costs just £15 a month.
In addition to Netflix with ads, the package also includes a Discovery+ subscription and access to Sky Atlantic.
While Sky and other TV other cable TV providers don’t publicise how much of your contract charge goes towards your ad-free Netflix subscription there’s still ways you can save money on your streaming costs.
For instance, if you’re a Sky customer with the ad-supported version of Netflix but also maintain a separate Netflix account paying £12.99 a month for its standard plan, bundling your subscription with Sky could save you a significant amount.
Sky customers can upgrade their Netflix plan to the standard ad-free version for an additional £6 a month.
If you were to stick with Netflix directly, the standard plan would cost £155.88 per year.
However, by opting for Sky’s £6 a month add-on, you’d pay just £72 annually for the same service – saving £83.88 in total.
A customer choosing to bundle a Netflix Premium subscription with their Sky package would pay an additional £11 a month through their Sky bill.
This is £7.99 a month less than the £18.99 charged by Netflix for the same plan when purchased directly.
By bundling Netflix Premium with Sky, you could save an impressive £95.88 per year.
NETFLIX PRICE CHANGES IN FULL

Here's what you need to know...
Netflix Standard with Ads
Price: £5.99 (up £1 from £4.99)
- Ad-supported, all but a few movies and TV shows available, unlimited mobile games
- Watch on 2 supported devices at a time
- Watch in 1080p (Full HD)
- Download on 2 supported devices at a time
Netflix Standard
Price: £12.99 (Up £2 from £10.99)
- Unlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile games
- Watch on 2 supported devices at a time
- Watch in 1080p (Full HD)
- Download on 2 supported devices at a time
- Option to add 1 extra member who doesn’t live with you
Netflix Premium
Price: £18.99 (Up £1 from £17.99)
- Unlimited ad-free movies, TV shows, and mobile games
- Watch on 4 supported devices at a time
- Watch in 4K (Ultra HD) + HDR
- Download on 6 supported devices at a time
- Option to add up to 2 extra members who don’t live with you
- Netflix spatial audio
Picture Credit: Netflix
Customers with a Virgin Media or EE TV package can also upgrade from Netflix’s ad-supported plan for an additional £6 a month or opt for the premium plan at £13 a month.
However, unlike Sky, Virgin Media does not automatically include the standard ad-free Netflix plan in all its packages.
So it’s important to review the small print to confirm whether it’s included in your specific deal.
Ernest Doku, broadband and streaming expert at Uswitch.com said: “Bundling your TV services with your broadband can be a good way to save money if you make full use of what’s being offered by your provider.”
“Of course, if you’re not interested in using other TV services, it will still be cheaper to purchase a Netflix subscription separately to your broadband.”
WATCH TV FOR FREE
Pluto TV
Pluto TV is another free streaming service with more than 100 channels.
Anyone can access Pluto TV for free on the web or on your iPhone and Android device.
Virgin Media has just made it available via some of its boxes – but bear in mind you’d need to pay a TV licence and take out a contract with Virgin to take advantage of this.
Amazon Freevee
Amazon Prime Video may be the first thing you think of but the retail giant also has a growing free alternative.
Freevee is home to exclusives like Judy Justice.
It’s the new home of Neighbours too, which is set to return later this year.
But there’s some classic on-demand content too.
The L Word, Nashville and Parks and Recreation are among the shows available.
All4
All4 is the main source of on-demand programmes from Channel 4, E4, Film4 and More 4.
The service is free to use and funded by advertisements.
All4 offers a free and extensive library of both classic shows and more recent programmes, including complete box sets of some of our most popular series like Gogglebox.
UKTV Play
If you’re a fan of Dave, Drama, W and Yesterday then the UKTV Play is the place for you.
The latest featured shows include Meet The Richardsons, Annika and Great British Railway Journeys.
You’ll have to sign up to start watching – and there are ads.
ITVX
ITV now drops many new and exclusive shows online before they’re shown on ITV1.
There’s also a load of other shows, including more niche interest like anime.
Free trials
You should take advantage of free trials to keep more of your hard-earned cash.
Some trials are as short as seven days, while others last an entire month.
For example, Amazon Prime Video offers newbies 30 days streaming for free.
Now TV also offers weekly free trails for Sky Cinema and Entertainment packages.
But any savvy savers must remember to unsubscribe to any subscriptions before the end of the trial period or risk incurring further charges.
Customers can also nab a free trial of streaming services when buying new technology.
Some Apple technology purchases will include a free trial of Apple TV+.