Netflix has made another change to its prices, this time getting rid of its cheapest ad-free plan in the U.S. and U.K.
The Basic plan previously offered advertising-free streaming for $9.99. New subscribers will no longer have it as an option, though existing users on the plan will be able to retain it until they cancel or switch to a different tier. The move is not a surprise, as Netflix removed the Basic plan in Canada last month. At the time, it seemed inevitable that the streamer would roll out the pricing change to other regions.
Now, new subscribers see just three options when they view Netflix's sign-up page: the $6.99 Standard with Ads plan, the $15.49 ad-free Standard tier and the $19.99 ad-free Premium plan.
By killing the Basic plan, Netflix is pushing subscribers who want an ad-free experience to sign up for more expensive tiers. Or they can drop down to the ad-supported option, which launched six months ago. As of May, it counted nearly five million global monthly active users. The company has said that the average revenue generated by those subscribers is higher than its Standard plan.
And revenue is what Netflix is looking to boost ever since a disastrous 2022 Q1 earnings report. To that effect, the streamer introduced the lower-priced ad-supported plan and instituted a password sharing crackdown to increase subscriptions. From our experience, the latter is working. And Netflix may confirm that at during its quarterly earnings report on July 19. Analysts expect the company to gain 1.8 million new subscribers, pushing total users to 234.5 million.
