• Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:15 AM

Seeking to leverage the finding that its customers use its Web-streaming service more than its mailed rentals, Netflix has launched its first Internet-only subscription plans in the U.S. and -- you guessed it -- raised prices on its DVD-by-mail plans. The one that allows for five DVDs out at one time goes up by $5, to $34.99.

Nat Worden reports that Netflix will charge $7.99 a month for customers that only want to watch films and TV shows delivered online. Netflix shares jumped 8.8% to $188.32 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Netflix's embrace of online streaming could bolster the company's ability to provide a low-cost alternative to traditional cable or satellite TV subscriptions and to compete with other online video services, like Hulu LLC. Last week Hulu said its subscription service, Hulu Plus, will now cost $7.99, down from the $9.99 price it adopted when its trial of the service began in June.

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