Netflix has confirmed the new Basic with Ads tier will launch on November 3, costing £4.99 in the United Kingdom.
The lower-priced, ad-supported plan is just £2 cheaper than the Basic ad-free plan, which will remain available to all subscribers moving forward.
For that £2 saving, Basic with Ads subscribers will have to contend with four to five minutes of ads per hour. Those ads will be 15-30 seconds in length at launch and will be shown to viewers before and during TV shows and films. There’s no word yet on how often they’ll appear.
As reported in the build up to launch, Basic With Ads subscribers will initially see an incomplete library. The streaming giant says that due to licensing restrictions, some movies won’t be available, but it is working on ironing that out.
Max resolution will remain at 720p as it is with the ad-free Basic plan, but there’ll be no opportunity to download shows for offline viewing. That was also reported during the run up to this offering.
In a blog post, Netflix assures viewers: “Our current plans and members will not be impacted. Basic with Ads complements our existing ad-free Basic, Standard and Premium plans.”
So, if you don’t want anything to change, it won’t. If you can put up with ads, you can save a couple of quid a month, with sign-ups starting on November 3. Basic with Ads will be available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US.
Earlier this week, Netflix revealed it has signed up to the independent BARB TV ratings agency in the UK. That’ll enable advertisers to gain more knowledge about how many people are watching Netflix shows, but it’ll also help the public understand just how popular Netflix’s biggest hits are amid all of the social media bluster and Netflix’s difficult-to-understand “viewing hours” figures and charts that only include other Netflix shows.
Netflix has been considering ads as it seeks to stem the flow of subscribers ditching the service in an increasingly competitive market.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
