(NewsNation) — Netflix is phasing out its cheapest ad-free subscription option beginning in the UK and Canada.
Although Netflix no longer offers the $11.99 per month ad-free Basic subscription for new or returning members, company executives told investors Tuesday it plans to retire the plan in markets where ad-supported plans are available.
This leaves users with Netflix’s $15.49 per month option as Netflix’s cheapest ad-free plan. Otherwise, subscribers will have to pay $6.99 a month for its basic ad-supported plan or $22.99 a month for the Premium plan.
In reporting fourth-quarter results from 2023, Netflix touted its ad-supported plan as accounting for 40% of all Netflix sign-ups in markets where it has launched. Netflix added 13.1 million net subscribers during this period.
Company executives told investors the number of subscribers on ad tiers grew almost 70% quarter-over-quarter in markets with that option, adding it recently surpassed 23 million monthly active unique users on advertising tiers.
Netflix’s ad-supported plans currently are available in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Spain. The basic ad-supported plan launched in November 2022, priced in the U.S. at $6.99 per month — less than half the price of the standard plan at $15.49 per month.
