Netflix’s new ad-supported tier is going to have lots of restrictions, but a lower price than the standard subscription.
The new “Basic with Ads” details were finally revealed by Netflix. Subscribers to this new tier will have to deal with 4 to 5 minutes of ads every hour, with each ad being about 15 to 30 seconds in length. They will play before and during shows and films.
If you ever had cable television, you’ve probably dealt with this anyways. Cable TV ads run longer than what Netflix is proposing.
Netflix is also restricting the video quality for Basic with Ads subscribers. Users will only be able to stream up to 720p. Users also can’t download content, and some shows and movies will be completely restricted to them. However, Netflix has said that it is working on expanding access.
Basic plan subscribers will have their resolution bumped up from 480p to 720p HD now though, so that should be good news for those users!
The ad-supported tier will run for $6.99 a month. Other streaming services have pretty similar pricings. Hulu with ads is about $7.99 monthly. HBO Max with ads is about $9.99 monthly. Disney+ is also coming out with an ad-supported tier in December and it will be $7.99. Disney+ will also raise its ad-free pricing to $10.99 monthly.
The new Netflix tier also allows only up to two simultaneous users, so big families might struggle with this one. The ad-free Basic Plan does run for $9.99 monthly, so it’s probably something to take into consideration to pay a few dollars extra without ads and all the content restrictions.
The tier will launch in 12 countries: The United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.
Netflix did confirm that existing members will not be impacted unless they decide to switch.
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