Netflix Starts Booting Subscribers Off Cheapest Basic Ads-Free Plan

Summary:

• Netflix is discontinuing its cheapest ad-free subscription tier, starting with the UK and Canada, with more countries expected to follow.
• Netflix has begun notifying users about the last day they can access the service on the Basic plan, prompting them to upgrade to the Standard with ads or more expensive Standard/Premium plans.
• In Canada:
  • Original Basic plan price: $9.99/month
  • New Standard plan price: $16.49/month
  • New Standard with ads price: $5.99/month
  • Increase from Basic to Standard: $6.50/month (65% increase)
• In the UK:
  • Original Basic plan price: £7.99/month
  • New Standard with ads price: £4.99/month
  • New Standard plan price: £10.99/month
  • Increase from Basic to Standard: £3.00/month (37.5% increase)
• The Basic plan ($11.99/month) is no longer available for new US subscribers.
• Netflix's ad-supported tier now has 40 million global monthly active users, up from 35 million a year ago.