# Netflix Ads Are Coming to a Cheaper, $7-a-Month US Subscription on Nov. 3



## b4pjoe (Nov 20, 2010)

Netflix Ads Are Coming to a Cheaper, $7-a-Month US Subscription on Nov. 3



> All of Netflix's current subscriptions will remain mostly unchanged, including no increases to their prices. In one of the only changes to its existing options, the cheapest ad-free plan -- $10-a-month Basic -- will now get 720p HD quality video. Previously, HD-quality streams were reserved for the $15.50-a-month Standard membership. Now Standard gets 1,080p HD quality, while the $20-a-month Premium tier has access to 4K and HDR.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

A bad deal at half the price.


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## NashGuy (Jan 30, 2014)

harsh said:


> A bad deal at half the price.


Yeah, pretty underwhelming. You're getting ads (and my understanding is that even movies will have ad breaks in the middle, not just at the start as is typical on some services) but the price is only cut 30% from $10 down to $7. Plus it's lacking around 10% of the library, I understand, because Netflix doesn't have authorization to run ads on that licensed content.

Compare the pricing on competing services for their plans with and without ads.

Hulu: $8 vs. $15 (a 47% cut)
HBO Max: $10 vs. $15 (a 33% cut)
Disney+: $8 vs. $11 (a 27% cut, so actually a bit worse than Netflix*)
Paramount+: $5 vs. $10 (a 50% cut)
Peacock: $5 vs. $10 (a 50% cut)

So, on average, Netflix's competitors offer a 41% savings to accept ads. Although in some of those cases, the ad-free tier also includes other features/content, such as 4K HDR. But then, as I pointed out, the Netflix plan with ads has less content than the ad-free plan, so that applies there too.

*Note that Disney+ with ads and Hulu with ads, while priced at $8/mo each, can be bundled together for just $10/mo.


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## techguy88 (Mar 19, 2015)

Netflix is one of the services I rotate out due to its cost. I decided to try their Basic with Ads tier this month and see how that works. 

My first impressions so far:

Pros
(Also applies to Basic) the 720p HD resolution is very welcome over their old 480i SD resolution in the cheapest tier. Most consumers won't notice the difference between 720p vs 1080p or will think 720p is good enough for the price.
There are no duplicate ads back to back. Other streamers like Peacock sometimes I get the same ad back to back.

Cons
Netflix really needs to improve where their midroll ad breaks go on their non-original programming. They are placing midroll ads in very weird places especially in shows that originally ran on network/cable TV that have built in spots for ad breaks.
The anime _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ is a good example where there are bumpers in each episode for where the ad break should go. Netflix's system keeps putting the ad break in spots that disrupt the flow of a scene or action sequence.
In Episode 1 I had a pre-roll ad break of 90 seconds before the show started. For me that's fine no issues however they placed the midroll ad break 5 minutes into the show.
In Episode 2 they placed the midroll ad break towards the end in the middle of an important scene. 

American TV shows like _Half & Half _fade to black when an ad break should start. This show is available on multiple streamers:
Netflix's system places the midroll ad breaks in spots that disrupt part of a scene.
Paramount+ rarely shows me midroll ads but when the service does the midroll ad break for this show is placed where the traditional network ad break would be.


Certain programming locked out of this tier due to licensing restrictions. From my 3 day browsing this mainly impacts some older shows (most notable is _House of Cards_) and Universal's animated movies that were recently in theaters (like _The Bad Guy_). 
Not available on all Netflix compatible devices (i.e. Apple TV)

I'm going to start watching one of their original series later today or tomorrow and see how they handle ad breaks. The ads themselves are not an issue for me and the load is less than Hulu which is a plus. As far as their original programming goes Netflix says they thoughtfully placed ads at intervals that make sense with the show so I hope that is a good thing.


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