Netflix is ​​preparing to ditch the basic ad-free plan once and for all

Netflix is ​​preparing to ditch the basic ad-free plan once and for all

The change will begin to be implemented in the UK and Canada. The company will also update subscription pricing.

The changes will be made starting from the second quarter of the year.

After free account sharing ends, Netflix is ​​gearing up to bring more changes to the service. Not everyone will like receiving the news. After introducing the basic plan with ads (not yet available in Portugal), the subscription became the equivalent Ad-free – the cheapest – will be gone soon. The news was announced on Tuesday, January 23, during the company's results presentation.

As of Q2 2024, the platform wants to get rid of the cheapest option (no ads) which costs €7.99 per month. If you subscribe to this plan, you can do one of two things: either switch to a more expensive plan, or accept to watch movies and series with ads – a choice made by more than 23 million customers in 12 countries.

However, this change will not be universally adopted. Netflix will test it in the UK, Canada and Only then will it be expanded to other markets. Subscribers in these two countries will be the first to choose one of the two more expensive ad-free packages (starting at $16.49 or £11 per month) or the cheapest plan with ads ($6 or £5 per month) – the latter yet to arrive in Portugal. In our country, the most expensive subscriptions cost €11.99 and €15.99 respectively.

In addition to offering new subscription options, the streaming company also wants to increase the amount of monthly fees. However, the final percentage of the update has not yet been revealed. In submission Following its Q4 2023 results, Netflix revealed that it has added more than 13 million new subscribers, a number that will please Wall Street analysts.

The platform closed in 2023 with profits of more than eight million euros and more than 260 million subscribers around the world. Despite these results, Netflix confirmed that while it is investing in its development, it may “have to ask members to pay a little more, which in turn will help.” The service is growing.”

The most popular were “The Crown”, “All the Light We Cannot See”, the documentary series “Beckham”, and the films “The Killer” by David Fincher or “Leave the World Behind” with Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke. Popular content on the platform in the last quarter of the year.

Click through the gallery to see the series (and return) that hit streaming and TV platforms in January.