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Netflix is launching a basic plans supported by ads.
Netflix

Netflix Is Launching A Cheaper Plan For $6.99 A Month, But You'll Have To Watch Ads

The new plan will roll out in November.

Netflix has responded to complaints about rising subscription prices with a “basic” new plan. The catch? You’ll have to sit through ads. On Thursday, the company announced details about its upcoming advertising-supported tier, called “Basic with Ads,” a lower-price plan for subscribers costing $6.99 a month.

Netflix’s new ad-supported plan will roll out next month. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Serandos explained the reasoning for adding the tier was because of customers’ thoughts about the current plans, after the company lost 200,000 subscribers last quarter. “We've left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: 'Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don't mind advertising,'“ Sarandos said during a panel at the Cannes Lions festival, reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “We adding an ad tier; we're not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We're adding an ad tier for folks who say, 'Hey, I want a lower price and I'll watch ads.”

The new “Basic with Ads” tier launches on Nov. 3 at 9 a.m./12 p.m. EST and will cost $6.99 per month, with an average of 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour, making it bit less expensive than Disney+ and Hulu, which is also ad-supported for $7.99, launching in December. Netflix’s new plan will be available in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the U.S. on Nov. 3 and in Spain on Nov. 10.

Not a fan of ads? Don’t worry, the new plan will not impact or add commercials to the current one ad-free “Basic,” “Standard,” and “Premium plans.”

The variety of television shows and movies will be the same, but some shows, a “limited number” Netflix says, will not be available due to licensing restrictions. No word if this will impact our upcoming watch party for the new season of Bridgerton or Virgin River. But the company said they are currently working on details of the restrictions. You also will not be able to download movies or shows under the ad-supported plan. But let’s all just keep our fingers crossed that the Teletubbies reboot with Tituss Burgess premiering this November will not be excluded from the low-cost plan.

In the meantime, there are plenty of great shows for kids and families to watch this October on Netflix, including the new preschool series, Spirit Rangers.