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Netflix raises the price of its most popular plan by $1

USA TODAY
In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 file photo, a person displays Netflix on a tablet in North Andover, Mass.

Your Netflix and chill just got a little more expensive.

The popular streaming provider announced Thursday that it has raised the price of its most popular plan by $1, from $8.99 to $9.99 a month.

Longtime subscribers may remember that Netflix raised the same plan by $1, from $7.99 to $8.99, in May 2014. (#TBT the Netflix of 2014, in all its Titanic and Eternal Sunshine glory.)

The plan that's affected allows for two simultaneous streams for each customer and includes HD. (The two other services, at $11.99 for four screens and HD, and $7.99 for a one-screen standard definition plan, remain the same.) If you're an existing subscriber, you'll keep their current plan price for another year.

Customers may gripe, but shareholders can't be complaining. Netflix (NFLX) closed up more than 6% with the announcement Thursday.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company's stock hit a high of $115.05, up 12% from its intraday low, before closing at $114.93.

"To continue adding more TV shows and movies including many Netflix original titles, we are modestly raising the price for some new members in the U.S., Canada and Latin America," Netflix said in a statement. "As a thank you to existing Netflix members — who aren't already benefiting from grandfathering — we will maintain their current price for a year."

Netflix raised the subscription price in Europe by 1 Euro. With more than 69 million global subscribers, the price increase could increase the streaming leader's revenue by more than $800 million annually.

That funding is needed to allow the company to continue its aggressive original programming plans and acquisition of other films and TV content for subscribers. Netflix expects to spend $5 billion on original and acquired content next year, and research firm Ampere Analysis expects that to grow to $6 billion by 2018.

The original version of this article was written by Mike Snider for the USA TODAY blog America's Markets.