Netflix Rolls Out Improved Video Quality, Other Changes to Ad-Supported Plan; Changes Lower-Priced Tier’s Name
It didn’t take long for Netflix to sunset “Basic with Ads,” or at least the name itself. The service still offers an ad-supported tier for $6.99 per month, but Netflix has made some improvements to the plan so it better lives up to its new namesake.
Netflix has officially renamed its ad-supported plan “Standard with Ads.” The tier will now offer improved video quality, boosting the maximum resolution of ad-supported streaming from 720p to full high-definition 1080p. The update also increases the number of simultaneous streams allowed on the Standard with Ads plan from one to two. Netflix first announced these changes would be made last week in a shareholder letter that preceded its first quarter earnings call.
“This month we’ll upgrade the feature set of our ads plan to include 1080p versus 720p video quality and two concurrent streams in all 12 ads markets,” Netflix said in the shareholder letter. “We believe these enhancements will make our offering even more attractive to a broader set of consumers and further strengthen engagement for existing and new subscribers to the ads plan.”
Tech and financial writer Michael Saves took to Twitter to note the changes announced have been put into effect by Netflix. One feature that has not changed is the ability to download shows and movies offline; Standard with Ads is the only Netflix plan not to have this ability, mirroring other ad-supported streaming plans from across the industry that do not allow users to download content.
Interestingly, the Standard with Ads plan allows more simultaneous streams than Netflix’s cheapest ad-free plan, called “Basic.” This is no doubt intended to keep cancelation rates at a reasonable number for the service once it goes through with plans to cut down on password sharing. Guidelines to put a stop to account sharing on Netflix are coming sometime this quarter, and executives are hoping the ad-supported tier will keep price-sensitive users who otherwise might leave the service for good from canceling.
Clearly, Netflix executives are bracing for a big, negative reaction to the rules against password sharing. But it stands to gain up to $3.5 billion by enforcing such restrictions, and there’s little doubt that such figures will drive the company to follow through on its promises. However, the improvements in video quality and increase in the number of simultaneous streams allowed on the Standard with Ads plan could assuage enough angry users to keep Netflix from seeing a nightmare scenario when rules against password sharing are officially introduced in the United States.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.