Netflix has announced it will introduce a cheaper new streaming plan with advertising for US$6.99 per month in November in 12 countries, of which New Zealand is not included.
In the US, the new tier will cost $3 less per month than the lowest-priced tier without ads. In Australia it will cost AU$6.99 per month, while in the UK it will be £4.99.
Under the 'Basic with Ads' plan, users will see about four-to-five minutes of ads per hour, Netflix said, but it's not the only downside. It will also mean customers cannot download content to watch offline and they will be barred from access to 5-10 percent of Netflix's content.
The streaming company is introducing the plan in a bid to drive new subscriptions after suffering major customer losses earlier this year; Netflix's stock has fallen 62 percent in 2022.
Netflix Basic with Ads launches on November 1 in Canada and Mexico before rolling out over the next two weeks in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, the UK and the US.
"At launch, ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length, which will play before and during shows and films," Netflix said on its website.
"To help advertisers reach the right audience - and ensure our ads are more relevant for consumers - we'll offer broad targeting capabilities by country and genre (e.g. action, drama, romance, sci-fi). Advertisers will also be able to prevent their ads from appearing on content that might be inconsistent with their brand (eg sex, nudity or graphic violence)."
Shares of Netflix were up 5.4 percent at US$232.86 in late Thursday afternoon trading in the US in the wake of the Basic with Ads announcement.
Other US streaming services already have or also plan to introduce ad-supported tiers, such as Disney's Hulu and the HBO Max service from Warner Bros Discovery, which also owns Newshub.
Netflix has not announced when Basic with Ads will launch in Aotearoa or what the local cost will be. Currently its local offerings range from NZ$12.99 to NZ$24.99.
