Image: Netflix
12 countries will soon get a cheaper ad-supported Netflix plan.
The day has finally come: Netflix is introducing ads to its streaming service via a cheaper ad-supported tier launching in November. The new subscription tier is called Netflix Basic With Ads, and will soon roll out in 12 countries around the world: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.
The ad tier will first launch in Canada and Mexico on November 1, before hitting the U.S. on November 3. It’s the cheapest available subscription tier, priced at a monthly fee of $6.99 in the U.S - $3 cheaper than the Basic plan. The Basic With Ads tier will only support up to 720p HD resolution for streaming, which seems rather antiquated considering 1080p displays have long since become the norm.
Here’s the strange thing: Netflix Basic With Ads also won’t feature the streaming service’s complete library of content, mostly because licensing restrictions keep the company from shoving ads in front of programs it doesn’t own completely. Netflix’s COO Greg Peters explained that a, “limited number of movies and TV shows won’t be available due to licensing restrictions, and we’re going to be working on reducing that over time.” Around 5-10% of Netflix’s catalogue will be unavailable in the ad-supported tier because of this, depending on the country. Subscribers also won’t be able to download any titles to view offline later.
Unlike Amazon Prime Video, you won’t just get ads before and after programs, but during them as well - just like basic television channels of old. These ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long, and you’ll see about 4-5 minutes of them per hour. During a press call, the company revealed what these ads will look like during regular playback (5:39 in the video):
Considering that Netflix has vehemently denied any chance of ads appearing on its service for years, you may be wondering: Why is this happening now? One only has to look at the rough year the company has had to find the answer. After finding success during the pandemic in 2020 to 2021 and seeing massive subscriber growth, the company saw its subscriber base shrink massively in 2022 with more and more competitors filling the streamer space. In Q1 2022 alone, the company reported 200,000 less viewers year-on-year.
The streamer has embarked on a series of purse string-tightening efforts ever since, much to the chagrin of subscribers and creatives alike. It started cracking down on password-sharing after revealing that 100 million households were sharing account passwords with others around the world. In June, the company fired 450 employees to trim costs - making up for 2% of its total workforce and damaging its animation department in particular. It’s started to get even more cancel-happy than before, laying waste to multiple Netflix Originals that will never see another season or sequel.
Despite launching a massively successful program in Stranger Things 4 earlier this year, the company was finally overtaken by Disney+ to become the second-largest streamer in the world - a massive blow to what used to be the king of the hill. Disney+ is also getting an ad tier in December, but it looks like Netflix is trying to get ahead of that by launching its own tier a month early. Here are the global pricing details for Netflix Basic With Ads around the world:
