Netflix‘s ad-supported version of its subscription could cost viewers up to $9.
We’ve been hearing about it for nearly a year: ads are coming to Netflix but only with cheaper subscriptions. Right now, there are three subscription plans for Netflix: Basic, Standard and $19.99. The biggest difference between them is how many screens you can watch content on at the same time, with the $19.99 option giving a viewer up to four screens.
It was previously reported that Netflix lost a whopping one million subscribers between April and July as swarms of people left the platform. In what may be an attempt to restore some of the money lost, the streaming service is tacking on a new tier that will include ads. The company will work with Microsoft to provide ads to the platform.
According to Bloomberg, the company is hoping to sell approximately four minutes of ads per hour; ads will be shown before and in the middle of the program a viewer is watching. The ad-supported option is expected to launch in “half a dozen markets” by the end of this year. More areas will have the option for an ad-supported subscription by 2023, The Verge reports.
It’s expected to cost between $7 and $9.