Netflix Basic With Ads will become available to Australian consumers from Nov. 4.
The cheaper subscription plan for the streaming giant will cost $6.99 per month, but will come with an average of four to five minutes of ads per hour.
The original Netflix offering in Australia costs $10.99 per month and is ad-free with SD videos (480p). For full HD (1080p) ad-free, it costs $16.99 per month, which climbs to $22.99 per month for Ultra HD (4K).
Netflix Basic with Ads will have video quality of up to 720p.
Users on the new plan will have access to most of Netflix’s catalogue, however a limited number of movies and TV shows won’t be available die to licensing restrictions. Under the plan, users can’t download titles.
Netflix spruiked the benefits of the alternative offering for both new users and advertisers.
“In short, Basic With Ads is everything people love about Netflix at a lower price, with a few ads in between,” Greg Peters, chief operating officer, said in a statement today.
“Basic With Ads also represents an exciting opportunity for advertisers – the chance to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ad experience.”
At launch, ads will be 15 or 30 seconds and will play before and during shows and movies. The service said it will offer broad targeting capabilities by country and genre. Brands will also be able to prevent their ads from appearing alongside certain content.
Peters noted the significance of today’s announcement and the speed of change.
“Basic With Ads will launch just six months after we first announced the option of a lower-priced ads tier,” he said. “None of this would have been possible without our team’s hard work or Microsoft’s extraordinary partnership.
“The switch from linear is happening at an ever-increasing speed, with streaming now surpassing free-to-air and pay TV in the U.S.
“We’re confident that with Netflix starting at $6.99 per month, we now have a price and plan for every fan. While it’s still very early days, we’re pleased with the interest from both consumers and the advertising community and couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. As we learn from and improve the experience, we expect to launch in more countries over time.”
