Netflix Removes Cheapest Ad-Free Plan

Netflix has long been one of the biggest names in streaming, as it was among the first. Unfortunately, they’re getting rid of one of their plans. From its humble beginnings as a mail-order DVD service to its current state as a hulking content behemoth, Netflix has been through many changes. Some have been for the best, while others have lost vast amounts of subscribers. Either way, they’ve managed to weather the storm throughout all of it.

For a long time, Netflix offered an ad-free tier at $9.99 per month. (In past years, this “Basic” plan was even cheaper.) But now the cheapest plan on offer (in the U.S.) will be their $6.99 per month plan, which includes about four minutes of unskippable ads every hour. The next available tier will sit at $15.49 per month. That's not even their most expensive plan. That’s the Premium tier, which is $19.99 per month. They’re even generous enough to give you two extra members, for an additional $7.99 a month.

Netflix

During the advent of streaming, everyone heralded it as the home entertainment option that would finally beat cable. But now most streamers have ads like most cable and broadcast television stations, and unlike cable with a DVR, these cannot be skipped. After convincing everyone of how much better than cable streaming is, it seems that every company is pulling a kind of bait-and-switch.

It’s also extremely convenient that this change comes after Netflix cracked down on password sharing. It would only make sense that they're making this change to recoup the losses after hemorrhaging subscribers after announcing their new policy. During their Q1 earnings report, they stated that the ad-supported model actually made them more money per sub than their standard tier.