Netflix customers who still have a Basic subscription will soon receive word from the company about it. Basic is going away. Netflix began by pulling the plan from its website and apps.
New users could not sign-up anymore for the plan, but the company did not touch existing subscriptions.
Now, it is targeting these subscribers.
The message is clear: Basic is going away, and you have to subscribe to another plan if you want to continue watching content on Netflix.
Basic subscribers have three options basically:
- Subscribe to the Standard plan. It is more expensive, at $15.49 compared to $9.99 in the United States, but it offers additional features as well. This includes watching Netflix on up to 2 supported devices at a time, Full HD resolution support, and an option to add one extra member.
- Subscribe to Standard with ads. Much cheaper, at $6.99 in the United States. Downside is that it includes ads that you need to endure.
- Do nothing and stop using Netflix.
Netflix’s shows cancellation message to Basic subscribers
The first batch of Basic plan subscribers appear to have received notifications by Netflix about the upcoming end of their plan.
The message is displayed in fullscreen on the device. It says:
Your last day to watch Netflix is “DATE”.
Choose a new plan to keep watching.
Your Basic plan has been discontinued, but you can easily switch to a new one. Plans start at “MONEY” with upgraded features.
Reports claim that Netflix won’t open anymore unless users select a new plan, even if the planned cancellation date is in the future.
Why is Netflix discontinuing the Basic plan? The most likely answer is money. Users who switch to Standard pay more directly. Netflix revealed some time ago that Standard with ads is generating more money than the Basic plan.
Also, development and engineering has one less plan to worry about, which may streamline things further.
While Netflix may loose subscribers, it seems likely that a good percentage will switch to a different plan. Netflix will monitor the response in the countries that it launched the change in.
My advise continues to be the same: do some subscription hopping. Subscribe for one service for one or two months, then cancel and subscribe to another. This way, you do not really miss out on anything without breaking the bank. I expect the next round of price raises is not far away.
What about you? Do you have a Netflix or other streaming service subscription?
I find it odd Netflix doesn’t just automatically move people to the more expensive standard plan.
When our ISP, Charter, raises our rates they don’t ask us, they just do it. The notification is included in the first bill at the higher rate.
When PG&E raises our rates, they just do it and don’t even bother to notify us.
Yes, we have the standard Netflix plan. We wanted the 2 simultaneuous streams since we have more then one kid. We got it when they started the password sharing crackdown, that actually started several years before you wrote about it.
It is apple to oranges.
When you sign for an electric company services, they do not offer three tier plans. Just one plan with rate depending on time of day/temperature/load on the grid for all domestic household in your area. And usually you can not switch, so there is no threat to lose a customer, and they charge the maximum that regulator allows.
When your ISP, there is 50% or more of the chance that there are two ISP providers in the building, So my ISP sends me a warning about a rate raise and meanwhile also trying to upsell me on other services and bundles trying to show that they offer a great deals. However, ISPs also have a captive audience. $10 raise a month is just $120 a year expense. But if you try to switch you have to spend the whole day waiting for an installer from a competing ISP and your time could be more valuable than $120 a year. You also have to spend some time on cancelling service (which is not simple) and returning equipment. And new ISP may charge installation and equipment fees too. And try to get true monthly rate with all the fees included from new ISP provider from customer service. It’s not always easy.
With Netflix, they do not have a completely captive audience. Yes, people value their product, but you could get similar stuff from Prime/Hulu/Max/Tubi and others. By sudden change in rate, Netflix can could cause churn that plagues other services. Now most US households have Netflix and to lesser degree Prime/Hulu as permanent streaming services and churn through other streaming services every three or six months. Netflix does not want to in the same boat as most streaming companies.