In brief: Netflix is once again hitting customers with a round of price increases across most of its plans in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina. While the bumps are marginal, they represent a general upward trend that began during the pandemic. The price increases go across the board, as detailed in the latest earnings report. The ad-supported tier is going up from $6.99 to $7.99 monthly. Then there's the standard ad-free option, which is seeing the biggest jump, climbing from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. The premium high tier is inflating from $22.99 to $24.99 monthly. These new rates will kick in during customers' next billing cycle.The new prices follow the hike from back in October 2023 and mark the first time the ad tier has seen an increase since its 2022 launch.Netflix says that the reason behind this bump is that it needs to charge a bit more so it can keep investing in new programming and "deliver more value" to subscribers.Despite these periodic hikes, some of which resulted in significant pushback from subscribers, the company racked up a staggering 300 million global subscribers over the last quarter its highest quarterly gain ever. Key drivers included the hugely popular "Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul" boxing event that pulled in 108 million viewers worldwide, making it the most streamed sporting event in history.Netflix also seems locked in on ramping up its live programming after impressive results with sports and entertainment events in late 2024. An example of this is the platform's first foray into live NFL games on Christmas, which was a hit with two games averaging 30 million global viewers each. // Related StoriesAdditionally, the return of Squid Game season 2 drew a massive 68 million viewers in its premiere week alone, becoming Netflix's biggest series launch ever. There was also the hit animated show "Arcane," which saw its second season become the most popular show on the platform in over 60 countries.All this has led to an operating income topping $10 billion for the first time. However, Netflix still sees massive growth potential: in a letter to investors, company executives pointed out that the platform accounts for less than 10% of total TV viewing in its markets, "suggesting a long runway" as streaming continues its worldwide expansion.Part of that growth strategy involves new offerings like the "Extra Member with Ads" plan. This tier lets ad-supported subscribers tack on an additional viewer outside their household for $7.99 monthly the same cost as adding an external member to the ad-free plans.