Streaming giant Netflix is finally ready to launch its low-tier subscription service for $6.99 a month, a dollar cheaper than other ad-supported subscription plans offered by Disney+ and Hulu.
The announcement comes nearly two months after Netflix picked up Snap’s former chief business officer, Jeremi Gorman, and VP of sales Peter Naylor to lead its new advertising efforts as it prepared to launch its new subscription offering.
Netflix’s “Basic with ads” plan will show 15 to 30 seconds long commercials, which will play before and during Netflix’s content. Subscribers can expect to see an average of four to five minutes of commercials each hour in a 720p resolution.
While the plan will largely unlock access to most TV series and movies (except for a few due to licensing restrictions), users will not be unable to download movies and TV series for offline watching.
That said, the plan is expected to be less intrusive than Hulu, which tends to play ads at a much higher rate. To prevent overpromising and overwhelming viewers with ads, Netflix is looking to strike smaller deals with advertisers.
Companies that partner with Netflix will have the ability to prevent ads from appearing on content that does not align with their business proposition and values. Furthermore, ratings company Nielsen will use its standard digital audience measurement, Digital Ad Ratings, beginning in 2023 in the U.S. to help advertisers understand the platform’s reach.
The streaming plan will become available on November 3, 2022, in the U.S., with a global rollout potentially occurring in early 2023.
