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Netflix has some exciting news for movie and boxset fans on a budget. The Stranger Things creator is about to make the service cheaper to access than ever before, thanks to a new ad-supported plan that’s launching soon. Currently, the cheapest Netflix plan in the UK costs £6.99 a month, but the soon-to-be-released Netflix Basic with Adverts plan will cost £4.99 a month.
Besides being £2 a month less than the current cheapest option, this ad-supported package is also £6 a month cheaper than the Standard plan (which is the most popular package) and £11 cheaper than the Premium plan.
This new budget option is also competitively priced when compared to Netflix’s big rivals.
Currently, Disney+ costs £7.99 a month while Prime Video is £5.99 on its own (and is also included as part of Amazon Prime for £8.99 a month). For those prices, you won’t have your viewing interrupted by ads though.
While the new Netflix plan has an eye-catching price there are some important things to point out for anyone thinking of subscribing…
When is Netflix Basic with Ads plan out?
The Netflix Basic with Ads plan is launching on November 4 and will be available on Day One in multiple regions.
The new plan will be out in 12 countries in a few weeks’ time including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany and Japan.
Very helpfully, Netflix has even confirmed the exact release time for anyone thinking of subscribing with it going live at 4pm GMT on Friday, November 4.
How is it different to the Standard plan?
There are a number of differences between the Netflix Basic with Adverts plan and other packages which don’t have adverts.
The obvious being, of course, the inclusion of adverts.
Netflix says on average there will be four to five minutes of advertisements for each hour of viewing.
Ads will be 15 to 30 seconds in length and will air before and during broadcasts.
Netflix also says the ads that air will be relevant to consumers but it remains to be seen how that works in practice.
Elsewhere, there are a number of key differences. The Netflix Basic with Adverts plan will air in 720p resolution, also known as HD Ready.
Stranger Things season 4 official trailer from Netflix
This is not as good fidelity as the more popular Standard plan which streams in Full HD (1080p) however it will be better quality than the more expensive Basic plan which doesn’t show movies or boxsets in HD (480p).
If your choice is between Basic with Adverts or Basic this better visual quality could sway you over.
But there is one other key difference that needs to be pointed out.
Due to rights, certain things in the Netflix library on the Basic, Standard and Premium libraries won’t appear in Basic with Adverts.
A Netflix spokesperson said 10 to 15 percent of the library won’t be with Basic with Adverts. However, it hasn’t been confirmed what shows or films won’t be included.
Basic with Adverts also won’t let subscribers download shows for offline viewing at launch but this feature could be added at a later date.
How does it compare to other ad-supported plans?
Plenty of streaming giants offer ad-supported plans as well but these are mainly available in the US.
However, in terms of price Netflix’s offering compares very favourably.
In the US, Netflix’s Basic with Adverts plan in the US costs $6.99 a month.
That’s only 99 cent more than Hulu’s ad-supported plan ($6) and a few dollars more than Paramount and Peacock’s comparable plan ($4).
It’s also significantly cheaper though than HBO Max with adverts which is $10 more.
The new Netflix plan will be less than the Disney+ ad-supported plan.
The House of Mouse is launching its ad-supported plan first in the US in December with other regions set to get it in 2023.
But if you’re wondering how much it could cost in your region, and had been hoping for a cheaper price, there’s some bad news.
American streaming the Disney+ ad-supported plan will pay the same as the current price for non-ad version.
The Disney+ ad-supported plan which launches on Thursday, December 8 is $7.99 a month while Disney+ without ads will be $10.99 a month.
Seeing as Netflix this year saw user numbers stall and drop amid increased competition from rivals like Disney+ this new, cheaper plan with ads could be just the tonic to help the streaming giant’s userbase grow even further.
Despite reporting its first subscriber loss in over a decade this summer Netflix is still the world’s most popular streaming service with 223.1million users around the world.
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