Netflix has now removed its cheapest subscription plan without ads, which follows the company's crackdown on password sharing. As the streaming landscape continues to evolve, Netflix remains the most popular streaming platform by a significant margin. The company has, however, recently instituted some measures that have proven controversial.
Following the company's enhanced focus on eliminating password sharing, Variety now reports that Netflix's Basic Plan has been removed for users in the U.S. and the U.K. The removal of the plan, which was priced at $9.99/month in the U.S. and £6.99/month in the U.K., is seemingly part of a larger effort to encourage budget-conscious subscribers to sign up for the ad-supported tier. Customers who are currently on the cheapest ad-free tier won't be affected by this change unless they change tiers or cancel their account.
Netflix's Subscription Tier Change Explained
Noah Schnapp as Will looking worriedly into the sky in Stranger Things season 4.
Netflix launched it's Standard with Ads tier last November, with the subscription costing $6.99 in the U.S. and £4.99 in the U.K. Despite some initial apprehension about the willingness of consumers to put up with ads, the new tier has proven to be a success, with data shared by Netflix earlier this year suggesting as much as 25% of new subscribers are opting for cheaper, ad-supported plans. The company also claims that the ad-supported tiers are actually resulting in higher average revenue per customer than its standard plans.
This latest change, as well as Netflix's controversial password-sharing crackdown, are essentially the result of a stall in subscriber growth. After years of explosive growth, Netflix revealed last year that it had experienced its first subscriber base shrinkage in about ten years. With an increase in the number of streaming services available and rival content from the likes of Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Max, Hulu, and Apple TV Plus, the streaming landscape is now a lot more competitive.
With a recent reckoning in terms of content expenditure versus revenue and subscriber growth, many streaming services are now instituting drastic cost-cutting measures such as writing off movies and shows or licensing them to ad-supported services. While Netflix has managed to largely avoid doing these specific measures so far, the company's crackdown on passwords and recent subscription changes are all part of a larger evolution currently happening in the streaming space.
Following the company's enhanced focus on eliminating password sharing, Variety now reports that Netflix's Basic Plan has been removed for users in the U.S. and the U.K. The removal of the plan, which was priced at $9.99/month in the U.S. and £6.99/month in the U.K., is seemingly part of a larger effort to encourage budget-conscious subscribers to sign up for the ad-supported tier. Customers who are currently on the cheapest ad-free tier won't be affected by this change unless they change tiers or cancel their account.
Netflix's Subscription Tier Change Explained
Noah Schnapp as Will looking worriedly into the sky in Stranger Things season 4.
Netflix launched it's Standard with Ads tier last November, with the subscription costing $6.99 in the U.S. and £4.99 in the U.K. Despite some initial apprehension about the willingness of consumers to put up with ads, the new tier has proven to be a success, with data shared by Netflix earlier this year suggesting as much as 25% of new subscribers are opting for cheaper, ad-supported plans. The company also claims that the ad-supported tiers are actually resulting in higher average revenue per customer than its standard plans.
This latest change, as well as Netflix's controversial password-sharing crackdown, are essentially the result of a stall in subscriber growth. After years of explosive growth, Netflix revealed last year that it had experienced its first subscriber base shrinkage in about ten years. With an increase in the number of streaming services available and rival content from the likes of Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Max, Hulu, and Apple TV Plus, the streaming landscape is now a lot more competitive.
With a recent reckoning in terms of content expenditure versus revenue and subscriber growth, many streaming services are now instituting drastic cost-cutting measures such as writing off movies and shows or licensing them to ad-supported services. While Netflix has managed to largely avoid doing these specific measures so far, the company's crackdown on passwords and recent subscription changes are all part of a larger evolution currently happening in the streaming space.