Netflix is scrapping its basic £6.99 plan – and UK is its guinea pig | Tech News
Say goodbye to Netflix’s cheapest ad-free Basic plan, as the major streaming company is planning to scrap the option for existing UK subscribers.
The much beloved £6.99 a month plan is being discarded completely in the UK this year, according to the company’s latest financial report.
Bosses did not set out a timeline for exactly when subscribers will be botted off the plan, but said it would happen sometime between April and June, Q2.
For those who still want to stay with the streaming site, the cheapest ad-free plan will cost an extra £4 per month, at £10.99 a month, with the potential for extra member profiles to be added for an additional £4.99 a month.
Other options in Netflix’s tier are a Standard with adverts plan at £4.99 a month, and a Premium plan at £17.99 a month – but be warned, there are stark differences.
Those choosing the Standard with ads plan will not have full access to the platform – the membership blurb states ‘all but a few movies and TV shows available’. But don’t despair, the shows you can access will still be in Full HD – Netflix knows what the people want.
The move comes after the company scrapped the Basic plan for new and returning customers last year, at the same time as launching a massive crackdown on password sharing.
This contributed to an extra 13.1 million subscribers by the end of 2023, meaning the total number of subscribers by the streaming giant is now 260 million – with 23 million monthly active users.
Unveiling the move in its latest Q4 report, Netflix revealed Canada will also be losing the beloved Basic plan.
‘Our ads membership increased by nearly 70% quarter over quarter, supported by improvements in our offering (e.g., downloads) and the phasing out of our Basic plan for new and rejoining members in our ads markets,’ the report noted.
Netflix’s with ads plan accounted for 40% of all sign-ups in regions where it has been launched.
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