From CNET: Netflix ads are coming next month, in a progressive rollout of a new ad-supported membership tier called Basic with Ads in the US and 11 other countries, Netflix said Thursday. In the US, the new tier will launch Nov. 3 and will be $7 a month, $3 less than the cheapest ad-free Netflix option and $1 less than the ad-supported tier that rival Disney Plus will launch Dec. 8.
The new Basic with Ads memberships will go live first in Canada and Mexico on Nov. 1, then the tier will launch on Nov. 3 in the US as well as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the UK. Finally, it'll roll out in Spain on Nov. 10. Basic with Ads will go live at 9 a.m. PT on each launch day, regardless of the time zone of the country where it's launching.
Netflix isn't increasing the prices of its current plans. 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.
The new tier won't allow subscribers to download anything to watch offline. And while the ad-supported tier doesn't necessarily paywall any parts of the catalog, a "limited" number of titles won't be available to stream because of existing licensing restrictions, Netflix said. Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters told reporters during a press call that roughly 5% to 10% of the library will be unavailable to ad-supported subscribers, varying by country.
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