The popular streaming service, Netflix, has announced that it will be discontinuing its lowest-priced ad-free plan in the UK and Canada. Users in these markets have been informed that they must either upgrade to a higher-cost plan or accept ads. Co-CEO Greg Peters stated that the price hikes are intended to help pay for a wider range of content options.
In Canada, a user posted on Reddit that they had been informed that the Basic plan had been discontinued and offered them new plans starting at $5.99 with upgraded features. A similar message was received by a user in the UK, who jokingly stated that they chose to save 100% on their new plan. The starting price for the new Standard plan with ads in Canada is $5.99, while the ad-free option costs $16.49, replacing the Basic plan which cost $9.99.
While Netflix stopped offering the Basic plan to new and returning users last year, existing subscribers in the US are still able to remain on their plan until it is changed or canceled. Co-CEO Greg Peters mentioned that the price hikes are meant to help the company invest in a wider range of content options to provide more diverse and higher quality shows.
It’s worth noting that Netflix is not alone in raising prices as ten of the top streaming services have done so at least once in the past year. The latest hike from Max took effect on Thursday. Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider’s parent company, Axel Springer, is also a Netflix board member.
