REMINDER: Netflix Tier With Ads Starts TODAY in the U.S.

The most recent trend to grip the streaming world is cheaper, ad-supported tiers, which are offered as an alternative to ad-free (and more expensive) tiers.

Some companies have been including ads with streaming for a while now, such as Hulu and HBO Max. Other services are only now jumping on the bandwagon, including the streaming giant Netflix. If you have a Netflix account, today marks a BIG change that you need to know about!

Netflix announced earlier this year that it would launch an ad-supported tier called “Basic with ads.” This change goes into effect TODAY, November 3rd, at 9AM PT (12PM EST).

In the United States, the “Basic with ads” Netflix tier will cost $6.99/month and will have 4-5 minutes of commercials each hour. People who subscribe to this tier won’t be able to download movies or TV shows to their account, and only one stream will be allowed at a time.

Netflix’s other tiers include Basic for $9.99/month, which doesn’t have ads but includes fewer features than the higher tiers; Standard without ads for $15.49, which has lately been the most popular option; and Premium without ads for $19.99.

The “Basic with ads” tier on Netflix is cheaper than most ad-supported tiers on other streaming services. Disney+’s ad-supported tier that launches in December of this year will cost $7.99/month, and HBO Max’s tier with ads is $9.99/month.

Netflix’s ad tier became available in Mexico and Canada on November 1st, and it goes live today in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the U.K., and the United States. Spain will get the ad tier on November 10th. (Prices for this tier vary by region — previously mentioned prices apply to the United States.)

According to the Netflix executive in charge of the Basic with ads tier, Greg Peters, this new option is “a pro-consumer model” and will “bring in a lot more members” (Deadline). The adjustment to a “with-ads” tier has required “a months-long process of obtaining rights and revising contracts.”

Although both movies and TV shows will have ads, Netflix previously stated that new movies debuting on the platform will only have ads before the movie, not during. The head of worldwide advertising for Netflix has boasted that “inventory was nearly sold-out, with several hundred advertisers in the mix.”

Netflix has struggled recently with losing subscribers and thus seeing shares and profits drop. But in its most recent earnings report, the streaming service reported an increase in subscribers by 2.4 million (more than double the expected number). This gives Netflix a total of 223 million subscribers worldwide, and the news caused the company’s shares to increase by 13%.

We’ll keep watching for more news about streaming and especially the ad-supported tier coming to Disney+, so stay tuned to AllEars for more updates!

Release Date and Pricing Revealed for Ad-Supported Disney+ Tier

Which Netflix tier are you going to use? Let us know in the comments.

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