NETFLIX users have been left fearing for the future of the cheapest ad-free subscription amid a controversial trial in Canada.
The streaming giant has axed its cheapest ad-free plan in the country, with viewers in the US and UK fearing they might one day share the same fate.
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Netflix spokesperson Kumiko Hidaka confirmed to The Verge that the company will no longer offer the $9.99 CAD (£6.99) per month basic plan to new members but says existing subscribers aren’t affected.
The removal of Netflix’s basic plan means users in Canada now only have three plans to choose from: the $5.99 CAD (£4.99) per month standard with ads plan, the $16.49 (£10.99) CAD per month standard ad-free plan, and the $20.99 (£15.99) CAD per month premium ad-free tier.
The streaming giant rolled out its password-sharing ban worldwide at the end of May, having first introduced it to just a handful of countries last year.
So while the trial is currently limited to Canada, Brits and Americans have pondered whether this is the beginning of a new global strategy from Netflix.
Either way, users on both sides of the Atlantic have vowed to quit or never return.
They say they won’t put up with being charged more for essentially the same service when there are alternatives like Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
“And I’m done for good. Cancelled Netflix today and I’m not looking back. Crave, Disney+, and Amazon Prime are better anyway,” one former user wrote on Twitter.
Another tweeted that this was their go-to subscription package and was “why I would keep going back. Probably not going back now.”
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Some users may be pushed towards the ad-supported tier – where you’re forced to sit through adverts like on a satellite telly – for financial reasons.
But there the ad-supported plan does offer some benefits over the basic tier, such as letting you stream on two devices at the same time.
Ad-based subscribers can also watch in higher 1080p quality than their basic 720p counterparts.
However, the ad-supported tier lacks the ability to download videos for offline viewing.
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