To earn the maximum amount of points, I recommend responding in a 275-word response. You can use your own experience to reflect on how the articles relate to.
Toyota Increases Prices on Six Vehicles (Chapter 3)
Toyota (Links to an external site.) announced last week that it is raising prices on five model-year 2012 Toyota vehicles and one 2013 Scion (Links to an external site.) vehicle. The MSRP increase ranges from $50 to $270, depending on the model and trim level. The higher U.S. prices will go into effect in May, Toyota says in a statement (Links to an external site.). Prices for all other new Scion and Toyota vehicles remain the same.
Toyota and Scion models receiving a price increase:
2012 Toyota Camry (Links to an external site.): increase of $50 to $270, depending on trim level
2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid (Links to an external site.): increase of $90 to $100, depending on trim level
2012 Toyota Prius v (Links to an external site.): increase of $150
2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid (Links to an external site.): increase of $175
2012 Toyota Tacoma (Links to an external site.): increase of $250
2013 Scion tC (Links to an external site.): increase of $150
USA Today (Links to an external site.) says that the price bump could be attributed to the dollar being weak. As a result, the price increase helps Toyota earn a profit when they import vehicles. Still, that’s not the case with all affected vehicles. USA Today reports that the “Camry, Tacoma and some of the others are U.S.-built, so this looks like trying to squeeze a little — just a little — more profit out of them.”
Inside Line (Links to an external site.) writes, “An extensive round of price increases on some Toyota models signals better health for the auto industry — but not good news for consumers.”
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-cars-blog/2012/04/toyota-increases-prices-on-six-vehicles
Hulu To Hike Live TV Subscriiption Price By 18% In December
By Dade Hayes (Links to an external site.) Nov 16, 2020
Days after Disney (Links to an external site.) CEO Bob Chapek praised Hulu (Links to an external site.)’s live TV offering during the company’s quarterly earnings call, the company has notified customers of a significant price increase. As of December 18, the package including more than five dozen networks will cost $64.99 a month for both current and new subscribers, up 18% from the previous rate of $54.99. The hike was relayed today to subscribers by the company, which did not offer any additional comment on the move. The move brings Hulu’s live bundle, in line with rival services like YouTube TV, which also goes for $64.99. Disney reported that Hulu had 4.1 million live subscribers as of September 30, to go along with 32.5 million customers paying for the Hulu on-demand service. Unlike YouTube or other internet-delivered bundles, Hulu’s subscriiption price includes access to its on-demand programming.
When Chapek was asked on the earnings call about cord-cutting trends in pay-TV and how the company planned to address them, he gave an answer that seemed remarkably cheery even by Disney’s standards. “We’ve got a product that we’re really excited about and has experienced some rapid growth and that’s Hulu + Live TV (Links to an external site.),” he said. “It really gives the utility that consumers might normally find from the cable or satellite subscriber and be able to get it over-the-top directly to their homes.” The company lost money overall during the quarter due to COVID-19 but streaming (Links to an external site.) results exceeded expectations in the streaming arena. Within those operations, Hulu’s financial profile was a big reason why. Despite a downturn in ad revenue during the quarter, its revenue per user came in at triple that of Disney+, which has quickly attracted almost 74 million global subscribers but at lower monthly rates and without ads.
Chapek enthused that Hulu + Live TV can “increasingly act as a solution to those households that have walked away from their traditional, more traditional cable type of subscriiptions.” The CEO added his own endorsement. “I’m a personal big fan of it,” he said. “I use it. And it’s really slick. It’s very elegant, and it really is a big solution provider. It’s really the complete solution, I think. So we’re excited about that in terms of solving a consumer need for those consumers as you mentioned that have all walked away from that particular way of distributing and receiving content.”
Once known as “skinny bundles,” TV packages delivered via the internet have followed a bumpy path in recent years, reaching a plateau after initially seeming like a potential successor to the traditional linear bundle. Those operating the services promote the fact that they don’t involve contracts or equipment, meaning subscribers can easily opt in and out. Soon after being taken over by Disney in 2018, Hulu has aggressively promoted its live sports programming, even encouraging customers to cancel and then restart based on the timing of their favorite sports.
YouTube said earlier this year that YouTube TV has surpassed 3 million subscribers and Dish Network’s Sling TV is close behind with about 2.5 million. AT&T, once a contender with DirecTV Now, rebranded the service as AT&T Now, but it continues to lose subscribers as the company increasingly favors a slightly different offering, AT&T TV. Smaller players with defined niches, like the “sports-first” FuboTV and the general entertainment service Philo, have made a solid go of it but at six-figure subscriber levels. Early contender PlayStation Vue, shuttered earlier this year when Sony determined that the economics no longer made sense.
https://deadline.com/2020/11/hulu-to-hike-live-tv-subscriiption-price-18-percent-disney-streaming-1234616402/
Now That You’re Hooked, Netflix Is Looking to Raise Its Prices Again
But don’t worry, your weekend binge won’t cost you extra. By Joanna Robinson. May 16, 2017.
In the age of Peak TV, cord cutting, and too many media options, many pop culture–loving Americans have had to make some budgetary decisions. Gone are the days where everything you might want to watch is available in one bundled cable package—but when it comes to choosing which service to keep, Netflix often emerges as the best bang-for-your-buck option. There’s a new TV series to watch every weekend (sometimes more (Links to an external site.) than one (Links to an external site.)), and with plans ranging from $7.99-$11.99, it costs less per month than a single night out at the movies. But now that Netflix has hooked an audience on its never-ending supply of original content, the streaming service is curious to know how much you’ll really pay to stay plugged in.
A rather alarmist article from The Australian (Links to an external site.) indicates that prices are going up down under. The paper reported, and Netflix confirmed, that the streaming service has been running tests in Australia that increased the basic service from $8.99 to $9.99 a month, the standard service from $11.99 to $13.99 a month and the premium service from $14.99 to $17.99 a month. What The Australian got wrong, according to an emailed statement from Netflix, was identifying this price hike as a new “weekend surging” model. “Reports that we are testing ‘weekend-only’ pricing are inaccurate and entirely false . . . This testing varies in length and time and the fact that some members saw this test on a weekend is completely unrelated.” So no, neither you nor any Australian you know will have to pay more for enrolling in a Netflix plan on the weekend.
But Netflix admitted it is exploring charging more for its goods and services with this Australian test. The company, no doubt, wants to avoid a catastrophe similar to the one in 2011, when, after C.E.O. Reed Hastings (Links to an external site.) announced the short-lived (Links to an external site.) DVD-only service Qwikster and a potential 60 percent price hike for some customers, users rioted (Links to an external site.) and cancelled their subscriiptions— causing Netflix stock to plummet (Links to an external site.). Back then, the company overplayed its hand—at the time, local video stores hadn’t yet been driven out of business, and the addictive likes of Stranger Things, Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Jones, and more were just a glimmer in TV-lovers eyes. Netflix’s first original series, House of Cards, didn’t launch until 2013.
What a difference a few years make. In 2015, after Netflix had made itself even more valuable to customers thanks to the rise of binge-watching and the 2013 demise of Blockbuster (Links to an external site.), the company attempted again to raise its prices. This time, the hike was much gentler—a mere dollar increase (Links to an external site.) in most cases rolled out gradually—and Netflix users took the change docilely, (for the most part (Links to an external site.)). That’s what happens to frogs in a pot of hot water when you turn up the temperature slowly.
So in Australia, Netflix is doing what it has done many times before in other countries: seeing what the market will bear. Fortune (Links to an external site.) speculates that the company may be exploring a significant price surge in Australia specifically (and, Netflix stresses, this is exclusively an Australian test) because of a “recent decision to extend the federal government’s 10 percent goods and services tax to cover ‘intangible supplies,’ including digital content and streaming services like Netflix. Nicknamed the ‘Netflix Tax,’ the extended tax will start affecting companies like Netflix when it goes into effect on July 1.”
Having assured its customers that weekend surge pricing is not a thing, Netflix further clarified in an emailed statement to Fortune: “We continuously test new things at Netflix and these tests typically vary in length of time. In this case, we are testing slightly different price points to better understand how consumers value Netflix. Not everyone will see this test and we may not ever offer it generally.” May not—but after a decade of rock-bottom pricing on streaming content and establishing a firm stranglehold on pop culture (Links to an external site.) (not to mention an expansion into the world of filmmaking), Netflix has no reason not to make you pay. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/netflix-raising-prices-weekend-surge-pricing (Links to an external site.).
Netflix surges 15% to record high after blockbuster earnings show company added more subscribers than forecast
By Theron Mohamed (Links to an external site.) Jan. 20, 2021, 12:33 PM
Netflix
Netflix stock surged as much as 15% on Wednesday after fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts.
The video-streaming service added a record 37 million paid subscribers in 2020.
Netflix expects to generate enough cash to end its borrowing spree and potentially fund share buybacks.
Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories (Links to an external site.).
Netflix (Links to an external site.) shares jumped as much as 15% on Wednesday, after the entertainment titan trumpeted its cash generation and teased stock buybacks in fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations (Links to an external site.). The rally added up to $34 billion to its market capitalization.
The video-streaming service – the world’s largest – added a record 37 million paid subscribers in 2020, boosting its global members by 22% to more than 200 million for the first time. Its annual revenue surged 24% to $25 billion as a result, driving its operating income up 76% to $4.6 billion.
Netflix also reduced its free cash outflow from $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $300 million last quarter, and expects it will shrink to around zero this year.
The group’s bosses expect the stronger cash generation will allow them to finance everyday operations without tapping debt markets anymore. They will also explore returning cash to shareholders via stock buybacks.
Netflix counts chess drama “The Queen’s Gambit,” period drama “Bridgerton,” and season four of “The Crown” among its recent hits. It has borrowed more than $16 billion over the last decade to build its library of TV shows and movies, The New York Times said (Links to an external site.).
The streaming company has been one of the few beneficiaries (Links to an external site.) of the COVID-19 pandemic. Signups surged last year as lockdowns and travel restrictions forced millions of people to spend more time at home, and government closures of gyms, stores, and restaurants severely limited their leisure options.
