Netflix is about to get cheaper for subscribers, assuming they don’t mind ads.
The streaming service revealed Thursday its new ad-supported subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Nov. 3, and it will cost $6.99 a month. The cheapest Netflix plan currently costs $9.99 a month, while the standard plan is $15.49 a month.
The new tier will include an average of between four and five minutes of ads per hour. But Netflix also said that a “limited” number of movies and shows won’t be available via this tier “due to licensing restrictions, which we’re working on.” Users also won’t have the ability to download content. According to Netflix, the ads will be between 15 and 30 seconds and play both before and during shows and films.
The $6.99 price point will make this version of Netflix cheaper than the upcoming ad-supported tier of Disney+, which will cost $7.99 a month, while Disney+’s ad-free tier will be going up to $10.99.
Netflix confirmed earlier this year it would roll out an ad-supported tier in the wake of losing subscribers during a quarter for the first time in a decade. This was despite the fact that co-CEO Reed Hastings ruled out the possibility of bringing ads to Netflix in the past. He said in May that “allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price, and are advertising tolerant, get what they want makes a lot of sense.” Netflix has partnered with Microsoft on the ad-supported tier.
