Netflix’s Ad-Supported Plan Is Horrible, Won’t Have Key Features And Content
Netflix has rolled out its ad-based tier, which includes a horrible 720p resolution cap and missing shows and movies.
This article is more than 2 years old
We all know how expensive it can get with the myriad of streaming platforms that are currently in the market. However, to combat the high price of its own standard plan, Netflix has begun to roll out its new ad-based tier. This new tier will cost $6.99 per month, but there are a ton of issues for users that go this route, which include capping the resolution at 720p, having to deal with ads, and a ton of movies and shows not being available because of licensing issues.
This new ad-based tier for Netflix could be the company’s way to offer a more affordable price to their subscription, which many have complained is far too high. The basic plan is $9.99 a month, which has 720p resolution but does not deal with ads or a lack of content as the ad-based tier does. Though a 30% discount sounds good, the ad-based tier is quite terrible in comparison.
Most of the streaming apps that deal with ads aren’t suffering from any sort of hit to their content libraries, and this new Netflix ad-based tier is going to lose between 5% and 10% of the library based on licensing issues. Also, the ads are going to run between 15 and 30 seconds, with four to five minutes of ad space used for every hour of streaming and are expected to play before and during movies and shows.
Netflix could be attempting to combat its own issues, as back in April, the company reported its first loss in subscribers, which was a whopping 200,000. This led to a ton of issues with the company being sued for lying about profits to investors and the stock price for the company plummeting. The company also began to cancel a ton of shows and lay off many employees, especially in the animation department.
Netflix is attempting to bring in lower-income homes with this new ad-based tier, and targeting those who don’t want to pay the higher prices of $9.99 for the Basic, $15.49 for the Standard, and $19.99 for the Premium. The idea behind this new tier might convince people ready to cancel their subscription by pairing it with other similarly priced streaming apps. However, not being able to watch around 5% to 10% of the catalog could severely hurt this new tier.
A lot of streaming apps charge around the same price as this Netflix ad-based tier, and they have ads as well, so it could be that Netflix is just following the same formula as everyone else. However, with recent issues, the once-great streaming app might not be able to save itself with this bold move.
Time will tell if Netflix is going to strike gold with this new ad-based tier, or if the company is going to dig itself further into a hole that it cannot escape from. While other apps charge around $6.99 for their services, Netflix providing 720p resolution and 90% of its library could be a huge reason why this plan fails miserably.
