SOME Sky customers are being notified that their Netflix account is about to change – and affected viewers are already fuming about it.
The shake-up is out of Sky‘s control as Netflix has scrapped one popular subscription plan.
Netflix Basic was removed as an option for new subscribers last year.
It is – or was – the cheapest tier available without any ads.
But with the introduction of Netflix Standard with Ads, the streaming giant has decided to phase out the former.
This has meant Netflix Basic users have had to either accept the new ad-supported version or upgrade – and pay more – for the main Standard plan if they don’t want ads.
Sky bundles Netflix with its TV products and has included the Basic plan at no extra cost for sometime.
But due to Netflix’s decision to end Basic, Sky’s customers are being shifted to the ad-supported version instead.
The changes will affect Netflix fans subscribing through other providers too, such as EE.
Those who already pay extra for Standard without ads or Premium versions are unaffected by the move.
Impacted Sky customers have started receiving emails warning them that they will automatically be shifted to Netflix Standard with Ads from September.
“not happy with the recent changes to the Netflix subscription,” one user wrote on X.
“Never had ads on it and now I have ads. Why am I being penalised?”
Another commented: “Sad times for us @skytv customers.”
According to Sky’s email, there are “just a few short ads per hour”.
However, there are some advantages over the old plan.
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
Netflix Basic’s future has been hanging in the balance for a while now.
And it might not be the only change – bosses previously suggested they are exploring other tier options with ads in mind.
The push towards ads is hardly surprising, everyone is at it now, including Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
Netflix’s advertising chief revealed in January that the ad-based tier now has more than 23million global active users per month.
Of course, users who have enjoyed having no interruptions during their shows all these years aren’t too happy about the shift, saying streamers are essentially morphing into traditional satellite or cable TV services.
With prices pretty much increasing annually, companies have tried to offset the impact by telling users they can keep (or lower) their current subscription cost with ads – but if you want an ad-free experience you’ll have to pay more for the privilege.
So expect to see more ad-backed subscription models in future.
Video quality is upgraded from 720p to Full HD 1080p for starters.
And you also get to watch and download Netflix from two devices simultaneously instead of only one.
It comes as nearly half of households say they are willing to have ads for a cheaper streaming subscription, according to Kantar’s latest entertainment on demand research.
Ad-supported video on demand grew by 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June 2024, while free ad-supported streaming TV went up by 6 per cent.
Netflix now offers three subscription tiers after briefly having four when the ad-supported plan was introduced.
