14 DAY TRIAL // Prices for pretty much everything are going through the roof these days, and not a long time ago, even tech giants like Google announced hikes for their services.
YouTube Premium, for instance, now costs more, even in countries like Argentina and Turkey which most people used to get cheaper subscriptions.
In the meantime, however, Netflix has decided to introduce a cheaper plan that’s supposed to provide most of the benefits of the service at a lower price point.
Called Basic with Ads, the new plan obviously comes with ads, something that many people obviously aren’t big fans of. Netflix with ads isn’t necessarily everybody’s cup of tea, though, given the lower price tag, some people out there would mind trying it out.
Here’s everything you need to know about Netflix Basic with Ads.
First and foremost, the thing that most people are interested in: the ads. Netflix guarantees only a “few” ads would be displayed, but according to the official FAQ, users will see them at launch and during shows and films.
The ads will be 15 and 30 seconds in length, but the company doesn’t provide specific information on how many ads would be shown. Clearly, one of them would be shown before the content is loaded, but it’s not clear if users would end up seeing one or several other ads during the shows.
Netflix, however, says it’ll air between 4 and 5 minutes of ads per hour, so in theory, if you’re watching a movie that’s 2 hours in length, you should see a maximum of 10 minutes of ads. Given an ad is up to 30 seconds long, this means no less than 20 ads would be shown during such a movie.
Netflix Basic with Ads costs just $6.99, so it’s pretty much the cheapest subscription plan you can get right now on the platform. It is available not only in the United States, but also in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.
When it comes to the video quality, Netflix says subscribers will be provided with the same settings as those who pay for a Basic subscription. However, not all titles will be available because of licensing restrictions, the company says, and users aren’t allowed to download titles at all.
“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. Basic with Ads also represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers — the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ads experience,” Netflix explains.
The other plans will continue to be available, so if you don’t like ads, you can still get Netflix Basic, Standard, and Premium. All are ad-free, but obviously come with a higher monthly fee.
While Netflix Basic with Ads has already launched in the aforementioned markets, the parent company hasn’t provided any information as to how many people subscribed to this plan. Such information would certainly be interesting to dissect, especially as Netflix users have been criticizing ads for a very long time.
Netflix, on the other hand, seems very confident that the lower subscription fee would make the new plan quite a hit, especially at a time when all prices are going through the roof. It remains to be seen if the company shares any details on this front, but for now, Netflix with ads isn’t something that sounds too appealing anyway.