Netflix’s new ad-supported tier rolled out across the world today and it’s already run into a few issues. There are some shows missing and some people can’t get it to work at all. Not an ideal launch for the streaming giant.
Netflix announced earlier this year that it was working on an ad-supported tier that would be more affordable than the premium tiers. It’s probably to pull in people who don’t have a Netflix account but would consider one if it was cheaper. Now it’s officially launched in Australia, here’s everything we know about it so far.
Which shows are missing from the Netflix ad-supported tier?
We were warned back in July that some of the shows available on the premium (AKA not ad-filled) Netflix weren’t going to be available for the newer, cheaper tier. The streaming giant said it was due to licencing restrictions and said ad-tier members would still have a “great experience” despite the missing shows.
Now we know exactly which shows are missing and there are some pretty big hitters in there.
Per TVLine, shows like The Crown, The Good Place, Grey’s Anatomy, Breaking Bad and Arrested Development are not available on the new subscription tier.
Netflix is yet to release a full list of what’s available (and what’s not) on its new ad-supported tier but here’s what is reportedly missing:
- Arrested Development
- Breaking Bad
- Friday Night Lights
- Good Girls
- The Good Place
- Grey’s Anatomy
- House Of Cards
- How To Get Away With Murder
- The Last Kingdom
- The Magicians
- New Girl
- Peaky Blinders
- The Crown
- Cobra Kai
One of Netflix’s CEOs was pretty open about the ad-tier missing content in a press conference in July, as reported by Deadline.
“Today, the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix, we can include in the ad-supported tier,” said co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos.
“There’s some things that don’t and we’re in conversations with the studios on, but if we launched the product today, members in the ad-tier would have a great experience.
“We will clear some additional content but certainly not all of it but don’t think it’s a material holdback for the business.”
Which devices can I watch the cheaper Netflix tier on?
Another issue the new Netflix ad-supported subscription has produced is that it can’t be used on all devices just yet.
Variety reports that Apple TV users are struggling to get it to work as the service currently doesn’t work with Apple TV or its 4K devices.
A spokesperson said the basic with ads plan isn’t supported on tvOS to coincide with the launch but it’ll be “coming soon”. They provided no explanation of why Apple TV wasn’t supported for the launch day. Feels like a pretty serious oversight but go off, Netflix.
If you watch your telly through an Apple TV device maybe wait a bit before switching to the cheaper tier until that major issue gets resolved.
How much will Netflix’s ad-supported tier cost?
The new ad-supported tier, called “basic with ads”, will cost $6.99 in Australia, which is a little less than the $8 publications were initially predicting. It’s not clear how much that price will differ when you factor in things like extra screens, though.
Currently, the cheapest Netflix plan in Australia is $10.99 a month to watch on one screen at a time. Then it’s $16.99 for two screens at a time, and the premium plan (four screens at a time) is $22.99 a month.
When will the cheaper subscription model be available?
The new plan was supposed to debut in 2023 but was moved up to roll out on November 4.
According to Variety, the streaming platform brought its launch earlier to beat Disney+’s own ad-tier launch in December.
Apparently, the push forward is also partly to stem the loss of over a million subscribers this year, according to The Guardian.
Netflix: Should I play this movie?
Me: No no I’m just looking at it for a second
Netflix: I’ll put it on
Me: I’m just literally reading what it is
Netflix: It’s playing 🙂
— Jon (@ArfMeasures) October 28, 2019
How will Netflix’s ad-supported tier work?
So, in terms of how many ads you’ll see, Netflix will air four to five minutes of ads per hour of TV. That’s an hour-ish of ads for a 12-hour binge. No, you won’t be able to skip them.
Ads will be 15 or 30 seconds in length and Netflix has confirmed in a press release that they won’t just air before movies and TV shows, like when you’re at a cinema, but *during* them too. RIP.
What type of ads will be shown on Netflix?
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Netflix won’t air any political, gambling or cryptocurrency ads and it won’t market products to children on its ad-supported tier. However, it’s still considering ads about pharmaceuticals.
Netflix has confirmed its ads will be targeted, but only by country and the genre of shows you watch.
“To help advertisers reach the right audience and ensure our ads are more relevant for consumers, we’ll offer broad targeting capabilities by country and genre (e.g. action, drama, romance, sci-fi),” the streaming giant said in a statement.
“Advertisers will also be able to prevent their ads from appearing on content that might be inconsistent with their brand (e.g. sex, nudity or graphic violence).”
This is an interesting one because Netflix has a lot of naughty shows with either graphic sex or violence. Will those shows and movies still have ads on them? Or will they just not be available in the basic with ads tier because of brand safety?
So far, Microsoft has been confirmed as a global advertiser. Other advertisers will likely be national only.
I love Netflix’s content, but I have to ask: if the content is limited and ads interrupt movies or shows, won’t people just revert back to piracy? If you have to deal with ads either way, what’s the incentive? They’ll have to figure that out to convince people to pay for ads.
I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.
