Shudder, a streaming video platform operated by AMC Networks that caters to horror movie enthusiasts, is raising the price of its service.
Starting today, new subscribers will witness a price increase from $5.99 per month to $6.99 per month. Existing subscribers, on the other hand, will see the revised pricing on their billing cycle after August 28th, 2023. The new pricing applies to subscribers in the United States and Canada.
The official statement released on Shudder’s website explains the rationale behind the price hike:
To continue delivering new and exclusive premium television programming from around the world, the pricing of our Shudder subscriptions will increase on August 29th, 2023 for subscribers in the US and Canada.
Our updated pricing is part of our commitment to improve Shudder, so you have even more of the world-class entertainment you like to watch waiting for you. The new rate of $6.99/month (plus applicable taxes) for our monthly plan and $71.88/year for our annual plan will be reflected on your next billing cycle after August 28th.
Subscribers in other countries will not be affected at this time.
The price adjustments come amidst AMC’s efforts to ensure its traditional linear and newer streaming platforms are profitable. In line with this objective, AMC announced earlier this year that it will introduce an ad-supported version of its streaming service, AMC Plus.
“This is a big moment for AMC Networks and for our advertising partners because it not only creates a fully-ad supported distribution ecosystem, it also allows advertisers to buy our shows, genres, and franchises in a much more comprehensive and impactful way,” Kim Kelleher, the chief commercial officer at AMC Network, said in a statement back in April. “With our new series content, library titles, and other targeted streaming platforms that are all bundled into AMC+, partners can move beyond individual shows and even series and choose to ‘own’ whole genres and franchises, and drive messaging to target audiences no matter what they are watching or where. We’ve never been able to offer this level of sweeping yet highly focused reach before in such an effective and comprehensive way.”
The ad-free version of AMC Plus currently offers some Shudder content, and the ad-supported version is expected to do the same. The company has not revealed how much the ad-lite tier of AMC Plus will cost, or when it will be available to streamers.
Shudder is available as a standalone streaming subscription for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV (Google TV) devices, as well as most popular smartphones, tablets and web browsers. Amazon also sells a subscription to Shudder through its Prime Video Channels marketplace, where it is occasionally offered at a discount.