The rumors were true: Netflix has raised prices for the second time in two years, leaving subscribers wondering whether to cancel again

In Netflix's moderate defense, only two of its four plans will be affected, one of which has not been offered to new members since July

Effective today, the Basic package will increase from $999 to $1199 per month, and Premium from $1999 to $2299 per month, a 20% and 15% price increase, respectively The ad-supported Standard ($699) and Standard ($1549) remain unchanged for now

Viewers in the UK and France will also be affected, with prices increasing to £799/€1099 for Basic and £1799/€1999 for Premium

It is the premium price increase that will hurt the most, not only because it has risen 28% in 20 months (almost doubling from $1199 in 2015), but because it is the only way to stream programming in 4K The best 4K TVs do a reasonable job of upscaling HD content, but it will never be the same as an actual 3,840 x 2,160 video stream

The closest thing to an explanation for the price increase was in a letter to shareholders seen by Today It said, "While we have mostly paused our rate increases as we roll out pay-sharing, our overall approach has not changed

The idea is that the higher the subscription fee, the better the content, and thus the more subscribers

"We're committed to partnering with the best creators because it allows us to delight our members, invest even more in great TV series, movies, and games, and build an even more valuable business"

The company added that the $699 starting price for the ad-supported tier remains "extremely competitive against other streamers" and is "much cheaper than the average price of a single movie ticket"

But there has to be a tipping point at which enough people end their Netflix subscriptions to offset the revenue increase And as Netflix continues its habit of canceling quality programming without a satisfactory solution, while pursuing a gaming market that subscribers are not interested in, one has to wonder if that tipping point is closer than the company's executives think