We’re entering a new age of streaming – and it appears to be powered by ads. This is evident in some recent announcements made by Netflix. Specifically, the Netflix streaming service will be introducing an ad-supported tier that will cost significantly less than most of their current plans. While it was previously unknown what price to expect, however, we now have an idea.
As suggested by Gizmodo via Bloomberg, it appears that Netflix is “apparently considering charging users somewhere in the ballpark of $7 to $9 for the tier.” This is certainly an interesting price range. As of right now, the lowest ad-free tier for Netflix is a Standard monthly membership at $9.99.
Of course, if the ad-supported tier is $9, then it’s possible Netflix will increase the price of their Standard plan. As for the Basic and Premium plans, those are $15.49 and $19.99 per month, respectively.
Gizmodo received the following response from a Netflix spokesperson when they asked about the potential price range:
“We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower priced, ad supported tier and no decisions have been made. So this is all just speculation at this point.”
With that in mind, it’s difficult to determine how much of this is accurate. With Netflix merely considering prices at this point – it could be more or less for the ad-supported tier. Furthermore, they note that the ad-supported tier won’t begin to launch until the end of 2022 with a larger rollout in 2023.
The advertising campaign will also be developed by Microsoft which should be an interesting partnership to follow. As such, stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates as we have them.
With the streaming landscape currently changing, it’s difficult to determine what the future will look like. In addition to Netflix seeking ad-supported tiers, we have the growth of Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max which will soon be merging with Discovery Plus. Other competitors are getting into the game as well – with applications like Peacock and Paramount Plus. Indeed, this ad-supported tier could make or break Netflix at this point.