Netflix Finalizes A Cheaper Ad-Supported Streaming Plan, What You Need To Know
Netflix has been teasing and testing a less expensive streaming tier with ads for quite some time now, and it's now ready to officially introduce the new paid option to subscribers. Starting next month, streamers on a budget can select a new "Basic with Ads" streaming tier for $6.99 per month in the United States, £4.99 in the United Kingdom, and $5.99 in Canada.
The ad-supported plan will still offer up Netflix's wide catalog of TV shows and movies (but not all of it—more on that in a moment), it will still offer a personalized watching experience (with recommendations based on what content you do and do not like), it will still be available to stream on TV and mobile devices, and as with all of Netflix's plans, you will be able to cancel at any time.
Not everything is the same, though. Obviously there are the ad interruptions. Additionally, Netflix is limiting the resolution to 720p (HD), which it's also doing for its Basic plan (without ads). And not every single TV show and movie will be available, pending license negotiations.
Netflix says a "limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions," which the streaming service says it's working to resolve. It's not clear exactly how many will be left out of the fold initially. Users who subscribe to the Basic with Ads tier will also be without the ability to download titles for offline viewing.
"In short, Basic with Ads is everything people love about Netflix, at a lower price, with a few ads in-between. Starting in November, signing up will be easy—visit Netflix.com, and register with your email, date of birth, and gender to get started," Netflix explains.
Netflix says the ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length, with an average of 4-5 minutes of ads per hour. These will play before and during shows and films. Microsoft is handling the ads for Netflix, with Nielsen on tap to provide advertisers with key statistics as time goes on.
Here are the subscription options with the new Basic with Ads tier in place...
- Basic with Ads: $6.99/month
- Basic: $9.99/month
- Standard: $15.49/month
- Premium: $19.99/month
Both of the Basic tiers allow viewers to watch content on one supported device at a time. The Standard plan ups the ante with the ability to watch on two device simultaneously in Full HD 1080p and also adds the ability to download for offline viewing, while the Premium tier supports watching content on four devices simultaneously in 4K Ultra HD.
