Netflix has finally launched its new ad-supported subscription plan, "Basic with Ads," and early reports suggest it's far from ready for public consumption.
Netflix first floated the idea of an ad-supported plan earlier this year, hoping to target low-income users after a prolonged period of declining subscribers. The Progressive plan is significantly cheaper than the pre-existing Basic plan, at $6.99 / £4.99 / AU$6.99 per month, allowing you to stream in HD resolution (720p only) with a clear focus on smartphone and tablet usage instead of the latest 4K TVs.
However, the ads are already controversial, not least because part of Netflix's appeal over the years has been the lack of advertisers on the platform.
As reported by The Verge (opens in a new tab), Netflix's ad implementation is highly inconsistent. Some shows force you to watch commercials at the beginning, end, and middle of each episode; some programs do not have any commercials. Longer movies also vary wildly in the number of ads offered, creating a confusing potluck where viewers just don't know how many ads they're going to be subjected to.
We know from a Netflix blog post (opens in a new tab) last month that "at launch, ads will be either 15 or 30 seconds long, playing before and during shows and movies." Another help page - opens in a new tab - states that "you can expect to see an average of around 4 minutes of ads per hour (this can vary depending on the title you're viewing)."
But there is no point in not applying ads consistently. One of the few advantages of commercial breaks on traditional television is that you know when they are going to land.
An hour of cable TV viewing will have commercials before a show/movie starts, about 20 minutes after, and at the end before the next hour's lineup begins. It offers reliable interruptions where you can, if you don't want to be subjected to the onslaught of messages from advertisers, go grab a snack, take a walk around the house, talk to housemates, check your phone, or whatever else. Variable banner ads are simply stunning and also seem to be more complicated on the back end than a standardized approach.
We've reached out to Netflix for further explanation, but in the meantime, it seems the ad clutter in this new low-cost tier, along with many key paid shows, due to "licensing restrictions," might give subscribers second thoughts. twice. before you sign up About 5-10% of Netflix content is not available at this tier, including some of Netflix's best shows like The Crown, Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, New Girl, and Arrested Development. unavailable.
Also, don't even think about testing this level on the Apple TV 4K, as it's not yet supported on tvOS devices (via Variety (opens in a new tab)).
The other basic plan, without ads, costs €9.99 / €6.99 per month, if that sounds less complicated and is still within your budget.