By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters: Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:) announced Friday that it has increased its monthly subscription prices by $1-$2 per month depending on what plan is selected. This was to fund new programming and to make Netflix Inc more competitive on the crowded streaming TV market.

Standard plans, which allow for simultaneous streams of data, cost $15.49 per monthly in America, up from $13.99

Canada saw prices rise as well. The standard plan went up to C$16.49, from C$14.99.

New customers saw the price rises immediately, marking the first since October 2020. Members who have been paying their monthly bills for the past few weeks will notice the changes in price. This is the first time that price increases were not reported.

“We understand people have more entertainment choices than ever and we’re committed to delivering an even better experience for our members,” a Netflix spokesperson said.

“We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options. “We offer several plans, so that members can select the one that fits their budget,” said the spokesperson.

This streaming platform is the largest in the world and faces fierce competition from other companies seeking to bring viewers online. Walt Disney (NYSE:) Co, AT&T Inc (NYSE:)’s WarnerMedia, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) are among the rivals pouring billions into new programming.

Netflix stated that it will spend $17 Billion on programming by 2021. Netflix has yet to disclose its 2022 spending.

Netflix’s premium plans, which allow four streaming streams simultaneously and stream in ultra HD, have seen their monthly price rise from $2.99 to $19.99. Netflix’s basic plans, which allow one stream per month, cost $1-$9.99 more.

Canada: The premium plan increased from C$2 to C$20.99 and the basic plan did not change at C$9.99.

Netflix’s most popular region, with more than 74 millions customers in the United States and Canada as of September 20,21, is America. Recent growth of Netflix has been largely from outside.

Netflix’s growth in subscribers slowed after an initial boom in the COVID-19 epidemic, but recovered with “Squid Game”, which is a global phenomenon from South Korea. In September, it released a dystopian thriller called “Squid Game” that helped to boost its subscriber numbers. The total global subscriber count reached 213.6 millions.

Netflix’s quarterly earnings will be released Thursday and the company’s next subscriber reports are due on Thursday. The company expects to announce 8.5 Million new subscribers between October and December according to analyst estimates. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:) International subscriber base reaches 222 million.