Netflix says it will offer a “price and plan for every fan”, once it launches its new ad-supported tier in the UK on 3rd November 2022.
Called Basic with adverts, the new option will go live at 16:00 GMT. The service will cost £4.99 a month, £2 less than the current cheapest subscription tier in the UK.
Netflix Basic with adverts will in launch in 12 countries in November. They are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US.
The company hasn’t indicated when it might extend availability of the ad-supported tier in the Republic of Ireland, but has promised further rollout worldwide.
Netflix has stressed that the launch of Basic with adverts will not affect existing subscription tiers (Basic, Standard, Premium), which will remain on sale. But for both Basic without ads and Basic with adverts, there’s improved picture quality:
Streaming quality upgrade
Both basic plans will now include video quality up to 720p/HD. That’s the lowest resolution that technically counts as high definition, although 1080p/i is more common.
Originally, basic started as standard definition only.
Quantity of adverts
The ad-supported plan will show between 4 and 5 minutes of adverts per hour. This is considerably less than the number of adverts on commercial channels at peak times.
At launch, adverts will be 15 or 30 seconds in length. They’ll play before and during series and films.
Some programmes may be missing
Netflix has warned that a “limited number of films and TV series won’t be available due to licensing restrictions” on Basic with adverts. It says it’s working on this issue.
Additionally, there will be no ability to download titles on that plan.
In a statement, Netflix said:
We’re confident that with Netflix starting at £4.99 a month, we now have a price and plan for every fan. While it’s still very early days, we’re pleased with the interest from both consumers and the advertising community and couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. As we learn from and improve the experience, we expect to launch in more countries over time.