Netflix Launches 'Basic With Ads' Plan, But It Doesn't Currently Work on Apple TV

[gregmancuso]

Netflix thinks they are irreplaceable. I think some of the recent moves - especially upcoming the password sharing crackdown and the lack of 4K on anything other than the 4 user plan (which is useless to many people if you can’t share) - is going to prove that point.

If they want to charge by resolution (dumb) and users (reasonable), the plans should be 1 user ad-supported (720 or 1080), 2 user premium (4K), and 4 user 4K HDR. Tie each “user” to a set login, tie that login to a “home location” and allow short travel periods and unlimited mobile remote watching.

Netflix seems intent on making it too expensive and complicated at the moment.

Cannot be tied to "home location". Even if you want to argue that your child attending college MUST have their own account and not be part of your household and get to use one of the screens, there are many people who subscribe to these services who travel extensively. Think any work-related travel job - pilot, consultant, OTR trucker. These people would never fit in a "short travel period" window and should not have. set up new accounts every time they want to want a show away from "home".

This is not cable. We cut the cord, remember? To have a geofence is just tying the ends back together.

 

[Damian83]

720p 😭

Netflix really is the worst.

people that doesnt notice difference between 720p and 4k are even worse then...

 

[return2sendai]

I don’t see those because I contribute to macrumours.

Ahem.

When browsing, I get different ads when I set my VPN to different countries. This ad on MacRumors was with my VPN set to…the US.

 

[coolfactor]

I hope nobody subscribes to this tier and it gets discontinued. Having it helps them to justify price increases on the ad-free tiers, so those of us that don't want ads will end up paying even more. You heard it here first.

 

[1284814]

Nice, now that it‘s out please go back to obscuriTy. lol celebrating 1 year without Netflix

 

[svish]

Price should have been lower for the plan with ads. Also should have been made available in more countries.

 

[mattlister]

720p no I’m definitely not restarting my subscription.

£10.99 is the cheapest plan I would go for. I’m currently paying less than that for Entertainment pack and Sky Cinema through Now TV.

 

[LFO8]

Who on earth would take seeing ads all the time in exchange for saving just $3 ??

 

[Abazigal]

Will the ads be in 4k at least, or the same 720p resolution?

 

[webkit]

I hope nobody subscribes to this tier and it gets discontinued.

I'm not sure what subscriber numbers Netflix is hoping for but ad-supported plans have proven to be popular on other streaming services that offer them. Hulu, for example, claimed a few years ago that around 70% of its viewers were on the ad-supported plan.

Having it helps them to justify price increases on the ad-free tiers, so those of us that don't want ads will end up paying even more.

Netflix has already raised prices several times over the years and did so without having/needing an ad-supported plan to "justify" the price increases.

The opposite is also true. They added an ad-supported plan this month and didn't raise prices of the ad-free plans

You heard it here first.

Not really. There have been others saying the same thing for a while.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

Here’s an ad on MacRumors. Tasteful. And with excellent spelling. Knot!

View attachment 2107888

Dollar Store Jin Kazama is up to no good again I see

 

[vikingjunior]

Hulu, for example, claimed a few years ago that around 70% of its viewers were on the ad-supported plan.


Isn't it like $6 more for no ads?

 

[pi=e=3]

What if I told you, I‘m fine with paying creative people for their work, without resorting to thievery and stealing it?

I’d call you a chump.

Some people like being chumps though. They like bending over and letting Hollywood have their way with them.

 

[Caliber26]

There are ad blockers that take care of those unwanted ads on YouTube.

I see this stated quite often but I've never figured how to do it. Are there any ad blockers you recommend? And I assume this only works on the web browser or will work for the app on the iPhone/Apple TV as well?

 

[_Spinn_]

Streaming services have now come full circle to what they were boasting about replacing, sad days. Looking forward to whatever gets created to begin the cycle anew.

You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.

I don’t like this trend of seeing ads showing up in places they weren’t before.

 

[FyrStrike]

What about a basic version with ads that’s free Netflix?


We are better off paying the extra $3 for no ads. $3. BIG whoop!

 

[Abazigal]

What about a basic version with ads that’s free Netflix?


We are better off paying the extra $3 for no ads. $3. BIG whoop!

I think the issue is that ads don’t pay as much as the people here think. So it wouldn’t be financially viable to offer a free ad-supported tier.

 

[webkit]

I see this stated quite often but I've never figured how to do it. Are there any ad blockers you recommend? And I assume this only works on the web browser or will work for the app on the iPhone/Apple TV as well?

I would recommend Brave but as far as I know, you can only view YouTube through the browser.

 

[4nNtt]

If basic were at least 1080p… but they must be still targeting an audience that just wants DVDs in the mail…

 

[4nNtt]

Do we know how long the ads will be. Considering that there will ads + only 720p video, this service is not cheap at all. At least not cheap enough to lure the people who are on the fence because of the price.

The Ads will be at 4K though

 

[smorrissey]

lol i'll never pay for watching ads...sigh.

Service should be free with ads.

 

[webkit]

If basic were at least 1080p… but they must be still targeting an audience that just wants DVDs in the mail…

In addition to their streaming service, Netflix actually still offers a DVD/Blu-ray service. Basic (1 disc out at a time) is $9.99/month, Standard (up to 2 discs out at a time) is $14.99/month, and Premium (up to 3 discs out a time) is $19.99/month.

 

[ackmondual]

Like You Tube they will probably start with minimum ads and increase it massively. I've noticed that I am getting more double ads on YT that's aren't skippable putting me off watching quite a few vids. I wanted to watch a video the other day that was 45 seconds long. I had to endure 30 seconds of adverts beforehand.

So it's not just me... I could swear the ads on YouTube doubled the past few weeks! 😖

 

[ackmondual]

Delete the YouTube app and watch it in the browser with Adblock, helps minimize ads

I use YouTube on up to 5 different devices. Granted, some of them I could just "let go". However, I don't have admin privileges on my work computer so that's a no go there. I'd have to look into what options there are for Android phones, Chromebooks, and iPad. I got YouTube Premium off a family plan which is nice since I'm ad-free anywhere I can log into my YouTube account. Were it not for that, I'd be using YouTube a lot less for sure.

Streaming services have now come full circle to what they were boasting about replacing, sad days. Looking forward to whatever gets created to begin the cycle anew.

If you're comparing it to cable TV, it's still miles ahead. I hear tales of how in decades past, cable TV would set you back $120 a month, and you'd be required to do 1 to 3 year contracts at a time. I like ss (streaming services) b/c...
1- I can go ad-free
2- I can get stuff on demand
3- I can pause, rewind, and ff to my heart's delight
4- It's easy to quit
With Cable TV, I hear you still need to call them to cancel. With ss, you can just cancel online. I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up that to click through 6 pages when I cancelled Amazon Prime.
5- all sorts of rental fees
6- still cheaper
For ad-free, my monthly rate has ranged from $6 to $22 per month, with the average at around $14 per month. Not too shabby!

 

[roguedaemon]

Here’s an ad on MacRumors. Tasteful. And with excellent spelling. Knot!

View attachment 2107888

disgusting and tasteless. Are ads not filtered on Macrumors?
The fact that it is drawn in a comical style, makes me think, who is their target audience for content like that?
I use an adblocker on everything for this exact reason.