A drastic dip in subscribers has left Netflix scrambling for a solution, landing on a cheaper ad-based tier that’ll arrive towards the end of 2022, according to the New York Times.
The move comes as the company experienced its first quarterly subscription loss in over a decade. In the first three months of the year, the platform lost 200,000 subscribers. Netflix attributes part of the loss to users sharing their passwords with non-paying users. Password-sharing has been such an issue for the streamer that they began testing paid sharing plans. Now, they are rolling out a tier suitable for the content consumer on a budget in an effort to win subscribers back.
For years, Netflix was the leading television and film streaming platform. They were also super affordable in their glory days, with their main plan standing at only $7.99. However, the increase in price and emergence of competitors such as Peacock, Disney+, and HBO Max has left even the most loyal Netflix fans looking elsewhere for their movie night needs. The company knew it needed to act fast, which is why the new cost-efficient ad tier will roll out sooner than expected.
“Allowing consumers who like to have a lower price, and are advertising tolerant, get what they want makes a lot of sense,” said CEO Reed Hastings during last month’s post-earnings call.
As of now, Netflix’s Basic plan is $9.99, with the second tier, the Standard plan sitting at $15.49 and their priciest plan being $19.99. All of the current plans are ad-free. It is not yet known how much the new ad inclusive plan will be.
