Skip to main content

Netflix’s ad-based tier launches November 3 at $7 a month

Netflix today announced details for its new plan that will, for the first time, include advertising. It’ll launch at noon ET on November 3 in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the U.K.

The plan costs $7 a month in the U.S., $6 a month in Canada, and 5 pounds a month in the U.K.

The new plan is called “Basic with Ads.” Netflix says it’ll have all the things you get in the current Netflix Basic Plan, only now you’ll see ads. Netflix says to expect an average of 4 to 5 minutes of advertising an hour, and that some movies and shows won’t be available on this plan due to licensing restrictions. The stream will be limited to 720p resolution, and on one device at a time. You also won’t be able to download anything for offline viewing.

Iliza Shlishinger on Netflix.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

The ads themselves should be 15 or 30 seconds long and will play before and during shows and movies. The advertising on the new plan is being served by Microsoft, which purchased the Xandr ad-tech tool from AT&T.

See more

Netflix says that it’ll work to better target ads to viewers based on country and genre of the content it’s being served on. Advertisers also will be able to keep their ads from showing up on content that doesn’t fit their brand (say, if the show has too much sex or violence).

The other Netflix plans remain as they currently stand — $10 a month for Basic (which is being bumped up to 720p resolution along with Basic With Ads in November), $15.50 for Standard (which gets you two devices at once, 1080p resolution, and support for two devices at once), and Premium for $20 a month (four devices at once, plus 4K resolution).

Editors' Recommendations

Phil Nickinson
Section Editor, Audio/Video
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
Netflix screwed up, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong
The Netflix logo in app.

If there’s one thing beloved by folks on the internet, it’s getting something for free. Free news. Free music. Free porn. Free status updates. Free photos. And, yes, free movies.

Netflix’s original sin — allowing the unfettered sharing of accounts — is what put the company in the position it’s in today, with more than 100 million "households" sharing accounts. (For context, the company said it has 230.75 million paid memberships at the end of 2022.) The status quo “undermines our long-term ability to invest and improve Netflix, as well as build our business,” Netflix wrote in its quarterly letter to shareholders.

Read more
Netflix expands its spatial audio, number of devices that can download content
Netflix app icon on Apple TV.

Netflix Premium subscribers are getting an enhancement to their service starting today. The streaming company has increased the number of devices that can download content for offline viewing from four to six. It's also expanding the spatial audio feature it launched in 2022, making spatial audio available on its top 700 titles. The new features are included in the current price of a Premium plan.

Spatial audio on Netflix is similar to Dolby Atmos -- it creates a much more immersive, 3D-like audio experience where sounds feel like they're moving independently of the rest of the soundtrack. However, unlike Dolby Atmos, Netflix's spatial audio can be experienced on any device that has stereo speakers whether they are Dolby Atmos-capable or not.

Read more
Netflix to expand paid password sharing in Q1
Netflix app icon on Apple TV.

If you're still freeloading on someone else's Netflix account, it might soon be time to pay up. Netflix, in its quarterly earnings statement, said today that it plans to expand its "paid sharing" scheme by the end of March 2023.

The gist, for those who haven't run into the changes already, is that one Netflix account is good for one home. But you'll be able to buy additional homes for a few bucks a month — less than it'd cost for a full Netflix account.

Read more