The company has announced that it will upgrade its new ad-supported plan to offer to stream a higher quality video than the existing maximum resolution of 720p.
In November, Netflix introduced a new plan in the United States called “Basic with Ads” for $6.99 monthly. Despite this, the tier was almost immediately panned for having a low resolution for its video streaming.
This issue was further worsened the following month when Disney+ released its competing ad-supported plan known as “Disney+ Basic.” This plan allows users to access content in Full HD, 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Expanded Aspect Ratio with IMAX Enhanced for a monthly fee of $7.99.
Netflix announced on Tuesday, when it released its financial report for the first quarter of 2023, that it would be upgrading the video quality of its Basic With Ads tier to 1080p at no additional cost to existing users. In addition, it stated that it would double the number of streams that could be seen at the same time, from one to two.
Netflix has stated that subscribers in Canada and Spain will see the 1080p resolution and the ability for more streams immediately and that the enhancements will roll out to all markets by the end of the month. The tier with lower prices is offered in the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Australia (AU), Brazil (BR), France (FR), Germany (DE), Italy (IT), Japan (JP), and South Korea (KR).
In its most recent earnings report, Netflix disclosed that its Basic with Ads plan already generates more money than its Standard plan, which costs $15.49 per month and provides HD-quality streaming but does not include advertisements. When Netflix opened its doors about 25 years ago, mailed DVD delivery was the firm’s primary source of revenue. However, the company just announced that it would be discontinuing this service.
