Netflix announces "Basic with ads" subscription plan, starting at $6.99

With the help of Microsoft’s advertising technology, Netflix has finally launched its ad-supported subscription plan in 12 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US. As previous rumors suggested, Netflix’s “Basic with ads” plan costs $6.99 a month. The new Basic plan will go live on November 3 at 9 am PT.

Netflix currently offers three subscription plans, including Basic, Standard, and Premium. According to the streaming giant, the new “Basic with ads” plan will complement its current plans. However, the ad-supported subscription will not offer all the titles available in other packages due to “licensing restrictions.” Netflix has said that it is working on a fix.

As for how frequently Netflix will show advertisements, the new tier will include an average of four to five minutes of commercials in an hour. These ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length at launch, and they will play before and during shows and films. Video content will play with a resolution of up to 720p, which is what users in the Basic tier get.

“Basic with ads” subscription will be limited to 12 countries only at launch, but the company does promise to bring the ad-supported subscription plan to other markets in the future. However, the company has not shared when that will happen. Interestingly, Brazil is the only emerging market where the new subscription plan will be available at launch.

In its official blog post, the company has said the following:

We’re confident that with Netflix starting at $6.99 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.

Do you think Netflix will attract more users to its platform with the new ad-supported plan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.