Netflix Starts Booting Subscribers Off Cheapest Basic Ad-Free Plan

Netflix will roll out a price increase in the UK and Canada to pay for its global expansion efforts and eliminate its cheapest ad-free subscription tier – a move that bodes increasingly badly for subscribers elsewhere. The streaming company has begun informing users in on-screen messages when their current day + existing service account ends, but they will need to pay a fee. A Reddit user shared a notification from the Netflix app stating, “Your last day to watch Netflix is July 13th. Choose a new plan to keep watching.”

More About Netflix’s Plans

It’s encouraging customers to switch to the lower-cost ad-supported Standard or the pricier Standard, Premium 4K plans. UK users are told their £7.99 monthly. Basic plan is no longer available. The streaming company has begun informing users in on-screen messages when their current day + existing service account ends, but they will need to pay a fee.

The Standard with ads plan is now just £4.99 or you can subscribe to the new improved standard sub at £10.99 instead. The £10.99 tier gets you 1080p streams, viewing on two screens at the same time, and downloads on up to two devices. Ads tier additionally includes 1080p video quality (same as Premium but with ads)

Some Canadian subscribers are also being told their “last day” to view their Basic plan. In Canada, the increase is also more sumptuous with prices going from $9.99 for Basic to $16.49 on Standard terms now. Another option is users may opt for Standard with ads at $5.99

The Basic plan costs $11.99/month in the U.S., but it’s been off-limits to new subscribers here since last year. During its early 2024 earnings call, Netflix announced plans to retire the Basic plan in some countries where the ads plan has been introduced, starting with Canada and the UK in the second quarter. Netflix reported in May that its ad-supported streaming tier has 40 million global monthly active users, up from 35 million a year ago.

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