All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately, one of the last bastions of somewhat affordable, add-free streaming entertainment has fallen. Netflix is ending their cheapest ad-free plan, the Basic plan. The company has been phasing it out for months in countries where an option to watch with ads had already been added, but now it’s begun notifying users in the UK and Canada that beginning on July 13, they needed to choose a new plan or be cut off. There’s currently no timeline for when their Basic plan will be removed in the EU or the US, though if you want to switch plans, that Basic plan is no longer an option. Users are understandably annoyed at having the choice between a cheaper plan with ads or a more expensive one without ads. The bright side, however, is that in the US, the new Standard with Ads plan is actually $5 cheaper than the ad-free one that’s being eliminated. It’s $4 cheaper in Canada and £3 less in the UK.
The Choice To Add More Fees Or More Ads:Netflix users took their dissatisfaction with Netflix’s action to Reddit, where they discussed the new development. Apparently, those subscribed to the Basic Netflix plan, which is currently priced at $11.99 per month, will soon have to choose to either switch to a new Basic plan priced at $6.99 or a Standard plan for $15.49. Seems like a no-brainer, considering that the new price of a Basic plan is now more than 40% cheaper, but the downside is that the new Basic plan is supported by ads.
Back To Not-So-Basics: Yes, you read that right: The new Netflix plan, the one we previously paid for to avoid pesky advertisements, now contains the ads. However, the equivalent service to the soon-abandoned Basic plan is now called Standard, and its price went up by almost 30%. Now, it’s important to note that most of the users receiving notifications about the price hike are located in the U.K. and Canada. This actually reflects Netflix’s previous announcement regarding the discontinuation of the old Basic plan we all came to love.
Forcing The Hands Of Subscribers: However, the company still hasn’t revealed when it will phase out the Basic plan for the existing U.S. subscribers and implement the new Netflix plans and prices. The newly formed subscription plans are priced at $6.99 for the ad-supported Basic plan, $15.49 for the Standard, and a 4K Premium plan that is completely ad-free and costs $22.99. But—and there’s always some “but” rearing its ugly head—things aren’t really as they seem, as more and more companies engage in mandatory arbitrations.
Targeted Advertisements Are To Be Expected: Namely, Netflix is now increasing the price of its former Basic plan and renaming it into Standard. Simultaneously, the company is introducing a new, ad-supported Basic plan, which, while more affordable, also implies that the company will collect data about its viewers and serve up ads based on the data it collected, thus earning not only money from subscriptions but also from advertisers. So, you can either pay more money for a new Netflix plan or choose a more affordable one and suffer all the annoying ads that go with it.
Know What You’re Paying For: Sure, users can always purchase a 4K Premium for the ultimate experience, but as a prominent Right to Repair activist explained, Netflix only streams 4K content to its closed-source application that comes installed in closed-source Smart TV sets. Otherwise, it’s 720p for $22.99—the cheaper Standard plan will still deliver 1080p for $11.99, regardless of where and how you watch Netflix. So, while it’s well within the company’s rights to introduce new Netflix plans, it’s important to note that the service delivered isn’t always what the service users pay for.
Well, this sucks, but it’s not surprising. I’m sure it’s also only a matter of time before they raise prices on the ad-tier, too. In my household, we’ve adjusted our mindset that commercials are inevitable and right now, the only streaming service that offers ad-free streaming is Apple TV+. We did take advantage of a Black Friday deal and have the ad-free Disney+, but the clock’s ticking on that one for us. I’m simply unwilling to pay more out-of-pocket, and well, I grew up watching commercials on broadcast television, so I can suck it up now. The commercials are great for pee breaks or checking my phone, lol.
I know we’re not alone in this mindset. In May, Netflix reported that its ad-supported tier now has 40 million active users globally, which is a big jump from when the ad-tier rolled out the previous year. At that point, there were only roughly five million subscribers. I don’t blame people. Streaming is no longer the new frontier, but the corporate world has caught up and figured out how to monetize to maximize their profits. It’s interesting that they made the commercial tier so much less. It’s almost as though Netflix is encouraging users to pay for their ad-based plan so they can collect even more data on their subscribers, which will inevitably net them even more money in the long term.
Photos are from some of Netflix’s most popular original shows, Wednesday, The Night Agent and Stranger Things. Credit: Tina Rowden/Netflix, Dan Power/Netflix
I wouldn’t mind it so much if the ads didn’t interrupt a scene – on TV the ad break usually coincides with the end of a scene (if you get what I mean). Its all so random which is the off putting part for me.
I have Amazon Prime as well so am getting used to it – it is helpful that you can see where the ad breaks are in the play line but they are often too long and too many of them. I hate that with Amazon Prime you sometimes get 2 ads or 1 30 sec long ad that just repeats itself.
Advertisers need to come up with other ways to promote themselves – annoying the consumer isn’t really going to work out for them long term esp if they are interrupting their entertainment. Maybe the should do what they do in the cinema – had all the ads at the beginning – set a max limit of 45 secs or something.
This is getting insane. I cannot keep up with their price increases and number of streaming services. Why are they raising prices? Also, ads? Really? At one point, we are all gonna go boomer on their behinds and pay for cable.
To be fair, lots of the steaming platforms have ad-free tiers. We have been paying for ad free, partially because I’m not dealing with my 3yo asking for whatever he sees, I don’t want him exposed in that way if it can be avoided for a few $$/mo. But I get it, it’s almost funny the whole selling point of streaming is now being rolled back 😂
Yup. They now have ads, and i am wondering where’s the line. I pay netflix, hulu with max, peacock and youtube. Plus audible. Watch one show on each. Youtube music is the only thing i actually use daily. The irony: i only watch old shows. Modern life is rubbish.
We currently have a number of streaming services but I’m seriously looking at canceling about half of them that we got just to watch a specific show, like Apple which had Ted Lasso. We haven’t watched anything on Apple in quite a long time but I’m still paying for it. Seems like it’s time to get rid of of several and just stick with Netflix and Amazon.
@HarlaABrazenHussy According to a cord cutting expert, most of the younger generation doesn’t subscribe to most streaming apps year round, only for a few months to watch shows they’re interested in and then they switch to another and he advises his viewers to do the same. I have several as well and am considering switching the ones I don’t watch frequently to the ad plans. Its disappointing that the best feature of streaming is now being phased out.
Streaming depending on how many still much cheaper than cable. And I grew up on commercials so ads away don’t bother.
Time to cancel Netflix
It’s wild how streaming has essentially just become ala carte cable. We’ve been scammed lol.
I only carry one streaming platform at a time. Currently it’s Netflix. I will pay the extra to remain ad-free and cancel my subscription when something I really want to see is on another platform. Bottom line: I wont spend more than $20/month on streaming.
That how I do it, too. When a show I want to see becomes available, I wait until all episodes are dropped, then subscribe to that service and cancel after a month or two.
That’s what I do. I find I can watch everything I want from a streamer in a month. I get Netflix for the month of December when I know I’ll have some extra time to binge shows. I haven’t missed any of them.
I never thought about only subscribing during specific seasons! Between working full time and school full time, it’s not like I have the extra free time to watch anyway. This changes everything.
I don’t know why people pay for Netflix and keep supporting them financially.
People forget that a) free w/ ads streaming exists and is surprisingly good (with a library card, you can access the amazing Kanopy, for example), b) 🏴☠️ exists, c) owning physical media is always better than paying for streaming content that can always be taken away without notice. And most importantly: Netflix has a terrible content catalogue.
If you’re going to pay for streaming, pay for the Criterion Channel.
I had no idea about Kanopy!! Off to investigate it. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I think Hoopla also works with a library card, and it not only has shows and movies, it also has audiobooks and comics.
Streaming free w/ ads has a bad rep. There’s some pretty cool stuff out there for free. At this point, the only streaming services I’d pay for are Mubi and Criterion.