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Netflix Co-CEO Confirms Plans for Cheaper Ad-Supported Netflix Tier

I cancelled my Netflix subscription last month after signing up when it first came out in 2008. It’s just not worth the $20/mo or anywhere close to that. With a deteriorating catalog, a push for garbage homegrown shows, the fact they charge extra just for 4K when nobody else does, and the increasing prices in every aspect of life, Netflix just isn’t anywhere near a priority like it used to be.

Apple TV+ had a growing catalog of good shows that I basically get for free with my Apple One subscription (I was already paying for other services at that price) and Disney+ is really inexpensive so between that and our library of iTunes movies there is no reason for Netflix. I think this recession is really going to be painful for Netflix.
 
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now i see it said:
while people who can’t afford another $5/month aren’t going to buy anything that’s advertised anyway.
The ones getting shafted are the advertisers (which is good)
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An advertiser could influence what you spend your food stamps on. There are things you can buy without money. :)
 
cancelled Netflix now and not going back. I watch so few of their own shows that I can grab these if need be.
 
Aston441 said:
This. Cable TV started the same way in the 1970s, i.e., pay for no ads. And here we are. It will work because most people have IQ<100.
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I remember that. I remember going over someone’s house and they had cable. I’m guessing they were rich because they had this huge TV. Everyone else I knew had a 19” TV with knobs to turn the channel. They were talking about how it didn’t have advertisements
 
ghostface147 said:
I do. It’s my brother’s old tv and it sits in the bedroom. Works fine.
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I suspect it’s not his only TV though. Sure people have old TVs in their garage or bathroom but usually the main TV is at least 1080P and most likely 4K

Well to be fair I have a 32” TLC Walmart special TV that’s 720P. I didn’t buy it and it was a gift. The only reason I haven’t upgraded is because I really don’t watch TV. I’m not about to pay close to $200 a month for cable and I can watch streaming on my iPad. Maybe if I bought a bigger TV I would watch it more but I don’t want to spend the money and realize it’s just sitting there gathering dust. It’s like the exercise bike that everyone buys and it becomes a coat hanger 😂

I don’t know anyone that has a 720P TV as their only TV. The one person I knew that had one a few years back bought a 55 inch 1080P TV from a pawnshop for probably less than $100
 
It’s ridiculous that there’s even a 480p tier. YouTube has been ad supported for quite some time and offers 4k. Plus, where can you even buy a display that’s only 480p in 2022?
 
No, I'm not return, people has different points. For me, the sharing policy treats users like thieves, and the non-resident fee policy made me decide to toss Netflix in the trash.
So, yes, get out, Netflix.
 
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Has anyone thought about “going on holiday” to a foreign country where they charge less for Netflix and starting a subscription whilst they’re there?
 
opiapr said:
That some people are willing to put up with ads to save a measly $10 a month is crazy.

People complaining about Netflix charging extra for 4k seem to forget that bandwidth cost are higher and a couple extra bucks a month for the ones that want it isn't a big deal.

When do people became so cheap that they make this huge drama for less than $20 a month?

Streaming more expensive than cable? That's ridiculous.

Netflix 4K Tier $21
Youtube Premium Family $19
HBO Max $15
Peacock $10
Disney+ $7
AppleTV+ $5
Paramount/Showtime Bundle $10
Hulu $13

Thats just $100 a month to watch whenever and whatever.
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What about live TV, cable news, live sports? Peacock has some as does AppleTV+ but that’s missing a lot of live sports. OTA doesn’t get everything.

I don’t care about live TV, cable news, or live sports but many people do. Once you add in a streaming service to cover some of that, now you’re paying $150 or more per month, which is easily as much as or more than cable.
 
bobmans said:
It’s a shame netflix is still charging extra for higher res video. 480p (or is it 720p? Article says 480 but I think it was 720p) in their base subscription? What year is it? 2010?

A content producer should hope for everyone to be able to view their content the way it is supposed to be viewed. Not in some crappy 480p/720p resolution.
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It’s really not clear because Netflix doesn’t wasn’t people to know how low the resolution is. I think the basic plan is up to 540p but typically 480p.
 
sw1tcher said:
Or Hulu.

Why? Higher Average Monthly Revenue Per Subscriber number. See post (#157) above.


Data says otherwise. Look at my post (#157) above this one.
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I get the profit motive, I'm just sick of the stupid YouTube commercials. I've stopped watching many things on YouTube because of the commercials. So many can't be skipped, and I just stop watching the content.

Your second point: Too many people are acting like farm animals being herded to figurative slaughter. It's embarrassing. Reality TV, subscription TV, etc... 🐮🐷🐖 People likely pay much more now to watch ridiculous dreck.
 
I feel this is a much needed move, both to attract new subscribers and to retain existing users who are thinking of bailing through service due to rising subscription fees.

However, this also speaks of how out of touch Netflix’s current management is. Their quarterly earnings Q&As are a joke, with the people asking token questions clearly being planted by netflix management themselves. They also clearly made numerous strategic errors when deciding on Netflix’s long term roadmap.

People here like to comment on how Tim Cook needs to go because they don’t like the way Apple is being run under his watch. I personally believe that perhaps it’s time for Reed Hastings to step down. Either change the people on Netflix’s board, or Wall Street will change it for them.

I don’t think they are fit to run Netflix any more.
 
AppleInLVX said:
The way I see it, I'd still be paying them 5 bucks a month to show me ads. The content, which is what I came for, is ruined. So I'm kinda not getting a lot.
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I realize not everyone wants ads even if it means a price reduction. I was just pointing out that if a service is normally $9.99 and the ad-supported versions is $4.99, that $5 is essentially a payment to you via a plan discount.

An ad/pay hybrid model is how most people have gotten content for ages whether it be newspapers, magazines, television, etc. They even run ads in movie theaters.
 
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bobmans said:
It’s a shame netflix is still charging extra for higher res video. 480p (or is it 720p? Article says 480 but I think it was 720p) in their base subscription? What year is it? 2010?

A content producer should hope for everyone to be able to view their content the way it is supposed to be viewed. Not in some crappy 480p/720p resolution.
Click to expand...
It's 480p according to their site. I just cancelled and it offered me to pay $9.99 instead and get 480p. It does feel like 1999 all over again!

I have until July 5, so plenty of time to stream the rest of Stranger Things.
 
bobmans said:
It’s a shame netflix is still charging extra for higher res video. 480p (or is it 720p? Article says 480 but I think it was 720p) in their base subscription? What year is it? 2010?

A content producer should hope for everyone to be able to view their content the way it is supposed to be viewed. Not in some crappy 480p/720p resolution.
Click to expand...

The Netflix Basic plan is 480p, the Standard plan is 1080p (HD) and the Premium plan is 4K (Ultra HD).

Another way to look at it is that they are offering 1080p as the "standard" but people can choose 480p at a discount or pay more for 4K. They're just giving customers more resolution options. $15.49/month for the standard Netflix plan is in-line with other services like HBO Max ($14.99/month ad-free). Netflix just happens to offer an optional lower tier 480p plan at a discount that the others don't.

I do think they should make simultaneous screen usage availability and resolution separate individual options i.e., you pick number of screens and then pick desired resolution.
 
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