Netflix executives remain optimistic about the streaming service’s cheaper, ad-supported plan, the Netflix Basic with Ads package, despite the relatively cold reception among subscribers.
Netflix Basic with Ads accounted for just 9% of US subscriber signups in the month following its launch in November 2022, according to analysis by research firm Antenna. But Netflix executives reassured investors that they were “satisfied” with the plan’s growth.
Speaking at Variety’s CES 2023 Entertainment Summit, the publisher’s Head of Global Advertising Jeremi Gorman said talks to renegotiate content deals that do not include AVOD (video-on-demand) rights are also “progressing by the day.”
In other words, it is planned to increase the amount of content that can be watched on Netflix Basic with Ads. The lower priced subscription option currently available includes approximately 85% of the content available for eligible streaming on Netflix.
Launched in November 2022, Basic Netflix with Ads offers up to five minutes of ads per hour and the highest 720p in video quality for a cheaper monthly fee from viewers. Also, subscribers cannot download content for offline viewing with the new plan.
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The new subscription level is currently unpopular, as customers and reviewers criticize the inconsistent ad practice and are said to be contrary to the ad-free ideal once embodied by streaming services. But Netflix isn’t the only publisher to decide on ad support in 2023. Warner Bros. Discovery will offer a cheaper, ad-supported subscription option when its HBO Max and Discovery Plus services merge into one service later this year. It looks like Disney’s equivalent plan will also stay alive and continue to exist on Disney Plus.
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