Starting this week, DISH will offer its customers Netflix for free, but there’s a catch. For starters, the carrier announced that Netflix is included with the DISH TV subscription at no additional cost for two years.
Secondly, DISH says that for a limited time, existing customers signing up for a new two-year contract will receive a Netflix Standard with ads plan integrated into their DISH service.
It’s worth mentioning that the discount will be offered as a $6.99 monthly credit on the subscriber’s monthly bill. In addition to that, new customers will have to pay an extra fee for DISH’s free Netflix offer since it requires a Hopper 3, Hopper Duo or Wally set-up box.
DISH customers can also choose to upgrade to the $15.49/month Netflix Standard (no ads) or the $22.99/month Netflix Premium plans, and they will still receive the $6.99 monthly credit, but they will have to pay the difference.
Basically, in order to get Netflix for free, you’ll have to sign up for a new 2-year contract, even if you’re an existing customer. Another caveat is that DISH will not cover any Netflix price hikes. Since streaming services like Netflix usually raise prices once or twice per year, DISH customers will be left to cover the price difference.
We reckon that DISH is trying hard to incentivize customers to remain locked in for longer periods of time, but not covering the full cost of a Netflix subscription if the streaming service decides to raise prices doesn’t look good at all.
And since that’s exactly what’s going to happen in the coming years, you’ll probably be better off paying for a Netflix subscription yourself, especially if you’re a new customer who’ll have to pay for the “eligible equipment” too.