Netflix has a plan to get you paying more for a subscription

Netflix will statesman phasing retired its astir affordable ad-free option, nan institution announced Thursday.

The streaming elephantine had already stopped accepting caller customers for nan Basic plan, which costs $11.99 per month, past October.

But existing Basic scheme subscribers were still capable to proceed pinch their existent plan. 

But now Netflix has said it is afloat retiring nan tier - and existing customers, successful nan tens of millions, will person to move complete to different plan.    

Basic scheme users seeking an ad-free acquisition connected Netflix will now person 2 options: nan Standard scheme astatine $15.49 per period aliases nan Premium scheme that has 4K astatine $22.99 per month.

Or customers tin move to nan ad-supported plan, which costs $6.99 a period .

Netflix announced nan aforesaid move for Canada and nan UK successful January - wherever customers are progressively reporting they are being contacted to move plans.

If Netflix follows that clip standard for nan US, customers successful America will get warnings later this twelvemonth aliases early adjacent year. 

Customers person reacted to nan axing of nan Basic scheme connected societal media.

On Reddit, 1 personification wrote: 'They’re taking distant nan scheme that astir group person had for years and forcing them into a higher tier. 

'That’s a awesome scheme to unit group backmost retired to nan precocious seas!'

Meanwhile, later connected Thursday, Netflix said it added much than 8 cardinal subscribers successful its 2nd 4th - from April to June.

The streaming work benefited from a password-sharing crackdown and specified titles arsenic 'Bridgerton,' 'Baby Reindeer' and 'The Roast of Tom Brady.'

While nan subscriber gains topped expert predictions of 5 million, Netflix besides cautioned that third-quarter subscriber gains would beryllium little than nan comparable play successful 2023 erstwhile nan password-sharing crackdown had conscionable started.

Netflix besides said its vice president of advertisement sales, Peter Naylor, was leaving nan company. 

In a missive to investors, nan institution said it did not expect advertizing to beryllium a superior driver of gross maturation until astatine slightest 2026.

Netflix shares fell 2 percent successful after-hours trading to $630.06.

At nan extremity of June, nan caller sign-ups brought nan full number of world Netflix subscribers to much than 277 million.

The streaming video pioneer is facing saturation successful nan United States and told Wall Street past 4th that it plans to extremity regularly reporting caller subscriber additions adjacent year.

Investors person been monitoring nan maturation of Netflix's ad-supported tier, which has been fueled by nan company's crackdown connected password-sharing, pricing increases for ad-free tiers and caller user bundles, specified arsenic Comcast's 'StreamSaver' bundle, which combines Netflix pinch Peacock and Apple TV+.

Netflix said its advertisement tier rank grew 34 percent from nan anterior quarter, but it did not opportunity really galore subscribers chose that option.

'Our advertisement business is increasing nicely and is becoming a much meaningful contributor to our business,' Netflix said successful its missive to investors. 'But building a business from scratch takes clip - and coupled pinch nan ample size of our subscription gross - we don't expect advertizing to beryllium a superior driver of our gross maturation successful 2024 aliases 2025.'

The institution said it expects third-quarter gross maturation of 14%, compared pinch a twelvemonth ago.

NETFLIX PRICE RISES OVER TIME 

Our interactive schematic beneath shows really prices person changed - and erstwhile caller plans person been introduced. 

After launching successful 2011, Netflix kept prices mostly flat. 

But, since 2016, Netflix has been steadily expanding nan prices of its different services, usually astir each 2 years. 

For example, successful October 2017, subscribers pinch nan modular and premium subscription options recovered retired that they would person to fork retired an other $1 a month.

May 2019 marked nan first clip that nan streamer accrued nan value of its cheapest subscription option. Netflix basal subscribers had to salary $1 much a period - up from $7.99 to $8.99. The modular and premium subscription plans went up $2 - to $12.99 and $15.99, respectively. 

In October 2023, arsenic good arsenic axing its $9.99 basal plan, Netflix besides accrued its premium ad-free plan, which allows users to adhd 2 other members from different households - from $19.99 to $22.99 a month.