Netflix is removing its Basic plan from some countries
28-Jan-2024Netflix is planning to discontinue its lowest-priced “Basic” plan without ads in Canada and the UK.
Netflix is planning to discontinue its lowest-priced “Basic” plan without ads in Canada and the UK. The streaming giant announced in its latest earnings report for Q4 2023 that its ad-supported plan accounts for 40 per cent of all Netflix sign-ups in markets with ads. Now in an effort to further increase its revenue, the company intends to retire its Basic plan in some countries and may eventually phase it out completely by Q2 2024.
The Netflix Basic plan used to cost $10 or £7 initially, but the company increased the price to $12 or £8 in October. It also made the Basic plan unavailable for new subscribers since last July. However, now the company is not planning to raise the prices; instead, it is removing its plan altogether for all new and old subscribers, leaving them with only the option to opt for either a pricier ad-free plan (starting from $16.49 or £11 per month) or a cheaper plan with ads ($6 or £5 per month).
“In Q4‘23, like the quarter before, our ads membership increased by nearly 70 per cent quarter over quarter, supported by improvements in our offering (e.g., downloads) and the phasing out of our Basic plan for new and rejoining members in our ads markets,” says Netflix in its letter to shareholders.
