The company made gains in ad-free subscribers and game downloads, but the $12 Basic subscription is being put out to pasture later in 2024.
This year, at least some countries will have to say goodbye to the Netflix Basic subscription tier, the last cheap(ish) way to watch Netflix without ads. While the streaming giant had already severed the $12 Basic subscription tier for new or returning subscribers, anybody who chose to keep paying their monthly tithe to keep that lower price point will find themselves forced to pay more, or else go with the cheaper ad-based tier.
Canada and the U.K. will be the first to see their Basic plan go away in the second quarter of this year. More markets will likely see their $12-a-month subscription die in the months afterward, Netflix execs speaking to investors in the company’s latest earnings report indicated on Tuesday. While the Basic plan went up in price by $2 late last year, the next cheapest option for all those with lingering Basic subscriptions would be the $7 Netflix with ads plan or the $15.49 Standard tier. There’s also the $23-a-month Premium tier that supports more simultaneous devices and Ultra HD resolution.
This move is explicitly tied to the company’s ad business. Netflix reported major ad-based revenue gains over the last few months with ads membership increasing 70% quarter over quarter. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told investors in a video call that one of their main goals going forward is improving ad targeting and adding more “binge ads” (ads that reward viewers with ad-free episodes for the content they’re watching), sponsorships, and serving advertisers’ needs.
