The lack of commercials was one of the initial selling points for Netflix, but the streaming service has been working on a cheaper ad-supported plan for months, matching competitors like Disney+ and Hulu. Now it's official.
Netflix has revealed its new "Basic with Ads" plan, which will be a new option alongside the existing Basic ($9.99/month), Standard ($15.49/mo), and Premium ($19.99/mo) plans. It will be priced at $6.99/mo, a $3 difference from the Basic plan. You'll be able to sign up starting November 3 at 9 AM Pacific Time (12 PM ET), if you live in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, or the United Kingdom.
There are three differences with the new plan compared to the typical Netflix experience (the Basic plan). You will see 15 or 30-second ads before and during shows and films, "a limited number of movies and TV shows won't be available due to licensing restrictions," and downloading for offline play is not available. Advertisements will appear an "average of 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour," which is still much better than cable TV, but not great.
It's not clear yet how popular the Basic with Ads plan will be with viewers, especially considering it's only $3 less than the existing Basic plan. The plan could be an upselling strategy more than anything else -- the lower $6.99 price generates more signups, and when people get sick of the ads, they might be more likely to upgrade to a more expensive plan instead of cancelling.
You'll be able to sign up for the new plan at Netflix.com once it arrives on November 3. That same day, the Basic plan is being upgraded to 1080p, the same resolution as Basic with Ads.
Source: Netflix