SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix is raising its Internet video prices by $1 per month for new customers and giving its current U.S. subscribers a two-year break from the higher rates.

The changes mean anyone just signing up for Netflix’s video subscription service will pay $9 per month for in the U.S. The old price of $8 per month will continue until May 2016 for Netflix’s existing 36 million U.S. subscribers.

The price increase, Netflix’s first in nearly three years, isn’t a surprise. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company disclosed its plans to raise its rates last month without specifying the precise amount.

Netflix says its needs more money so it can afford to pay for more original programming along the lines of its Emmy award-winning political drama “House of Cards.”

Netflix also is making a push into documentaries, announcing deals to premiere four new films in the next few months.

Netflix has always made nonfiction films available to subscribers, but until recently they have been projects initially made for theatrical release or on television networks.

The first of the four new films to be released will be “Battered Bastards of Baseball,” about a defunct minor league baseball team. It will premiere on Netflix on July 11.

“Mission Blue,” a documentary about marine biologist Sylvia Earle and her campaign to create a network of protected marine sanctuaries, is set for Aug. 15. Later this year the service will premiere “E-Team,” a film about human rights workers, and “Print the Legend,” about 3-D printing.