Watching Netflix’ ‘Stranger Things’ likely to cost you more

SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix is raising the price for its most popular U.S. video streaming plan by 10 percent — a move aimed at bringing in more money to outbid HBO, Amazon and other rivals for addictive shows such as "Stranger Things."

The change announced Thursday affects most of Netflix's 53 million U.S. subscribers.

WHAT GOES UP Netflix will now charge $11 per month instead of $10 for a plan that includes HD and allows people to simultaneously watch programs on two different internet-connected devices.

The price for another plan that includes ultrahigh definition, or 4K, video, is going up by 17 percent, to $14 from $12 a month. A plan that limits subscribers to one screen at a time without high-definition will remain at $8 a month.

The increase will be the first in two years for Netflix, although it won't seem that way for millions of subscribers. That's because Netflix temporarily froze its rates for long-time subscribers the last two times it raised its prices, delaying the most recent increases until the second half of last year for them.

Netflix isn't giving anyone a break this time around. It will start emailing notifications about the new prices to affected subscribers Oct. 19, giving them 30 days to accept the higher rates, switch to a cheaper plan or cancel the service. WHY PRICES ARE RISING

The price increase are being driven by Netflix's desire to boost its profits as it spends more money to finance a critically acclaimed slate of original programming that includes shows such as "House of Cards," ''Orange Is The New Black," and "The Crown," in addition to "Stranger Things."

Those series' success helped Netflix land more Emmy award nominations than any TV network besides HBO this year. It's also the main reason Netflix's U.S. audience has nearly doubled since the February 2013 debut of "House of Cards" kicked off its expansion into original programming.