Netflix Finally Axes the ‘Basic’ Ad-Free Tier

In July last year, Netflix officially confirmed that it had ended the option for new subscribers to sign-up for its ‘basic’ tier. So, if you were not a current subscriber, the original entry-level tier that the platform launched with (back in the day when they didn’t even entertain the idea of advert supported revenue) was now mostly gone!

So, in a nutshell, and for those presumably few of you who hadn’t signed up to Netflix before, your cheapest subscription option was changed to the revised ‘standard with adverts’ level (at £4.99 a month). Basic was gone forever for new customers! – So with all this in mind, it did, of course, leave a pretty big question mark regarding what would happen to existing customers who were still being allowed to remain on ‘basic’ (ad-free).

Well, following an email I personally received within the last hour, it would appear that the metaphorical Sword of Damocles has finally fallen. – Yep, Netflix is officially ending it’s ‘basic’ plan for existing customers!

Netflix Kills off the ‘Basic’ Plan!

So, just to be clear, the ‘basic’ tier hasn’t been available for new (or returning) customers for essentially a year now. However, for its existing customers who were on the tier prior to the transition to ‘standard with ads’, with this notification you now have just one more month to enjoy it before you’re automatically swapped to the supposedly ‘a few short adverts’ interrupting your viewing… tier.

On the plus side, for those customers who are being forced to make this move there are two key perks. Firstly, it’ll allow you to watch Netflix on two devices instead of one (you could only watch on one with basic). And secondly, and I stand to be corrected on this, the quality has been upgraded to 1080p from 720p.

What if you just flat out don’t want adverts though? Well, in regard to the added cost, this is a massive factor.

Ad-Free – At a Cost With Minimal Benefits!

As you can see above, while ‘standard with adverts’ might seem cheap at £4.99 a month, if you want to go completely advert free you’re going to have to pay a notably steeper £10.99 a month. And what do you get for that higher tier? Well, basically, bugger all. You don’t get adverts… and that’s honestly pretty much it! Depending on how invasive the adverts are (which I’m currently yet to discover) it’s a pretty hefty additional chunk of change for hardly any new features.

What am I going to do about this? Honestly, I’m not quite sure. I don’t like the idea of adverts, but then I like the idea of paying over twice as much to avoid them even less. – What do you think though? If this has affected you too, what are you plans moving forward? – Let us know in the comments!