Netflix pricing controversy: NY-based iced tea brand viral for 99-cent price tag trolls streaming service
AriZona Iced Tea Team's sassy tweet ripped Netflix a new one, joining the Internet in its disapproval of yet another price hike update.
Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it will be raising subscription prices in the US and other markets. The Tuesday announcement came along with the revelation that the streaming giant hit its biggest-ever quarterly subscribers milestone in Q4 2024 thanks to nearly 19 million new subscribers.
The subscription price hike decision instantly ruffled many feathers, as netizens took to social media to vent their pain associated with the ever-rising OTT demands.
NY-based iced tea brand wins the Internet all over again
Joining the scores of frustrated customers, the famous New York-based AriZona Iced Tea’s social media got to work. Unleashing a curt and cheeky 7-word meme-worthy reply, now gaining applause and internet virality status, the @DrinkAriZona X/Twitter page took a dig at Netflix.
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Notably, the price for AriZona Beverage Company’s 23-ounce can has remained the same since 1992: 99 cents. Contradicting the capitalist workings of many structures, especially OTT platforms, the iced tea brand’s tweet boasted, “AriZona Iced Tea is still 99 cents.”
The post, in turn, referenced DiscussingFilm’s update on the Netflix issue, reporting, “Netflix are once again raising their prices in the US. The ad-supported tier will cost $7.99/month, an increase of $1/month. The Premium tier will cost $24.99/month, an increase of $2/month.”
As AriZona’s post pulled the rug from under Netflix amid netizens’ complaints about these price hikes getting out of hand, the Internet was reminded of the company founder’s admission about why and how their popular customer-favourite pick had retained its pocket-friendly price all these years.
“We're successful, we're debt free, we own everything,” Don Vultaggio explained in a TODAY profile last year. “Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent pay more for our drink? Maybe it's my little way to give back.”
AriZona Iced Tea's steal-deal out of Costco's playbook
Similarly, Costco’s iconic hot dog and soda combo price has been positively stuck at $1.50 since the 1980s. The chain’s CFO, Gary Millerchip, confirmed during the Q3 2024 earnings call that the price tag was safe. In 2022, Richard Galanti, who previously held the position, also remarked that the combo price would maybe “forever” remain the same.”
Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal also infamously once told then-CEO W. Craig Jelinek that the long-running meal deal was to stay the same. “We are losing our rear ends,’” Jelinek recalled how he once approached Sinegal attempting to raise the deal’s price. “And he said, ‘If you raise (the price of the) effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’ That’s all I really needed.”
At the time of writing, AriZona Iced Tea’s sassy and ‘GOATed’ tweet has amassed nearly 23 million views and over 711,000 likes.
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