The Netflix Basic with Ads platform is getting a significant upgrade to boost the video resolution and the number of devices you can watch on at the same time.
The more affordable £4.99 a month service, which offers access to most of the Netflix streaming library but with regular commercial interruption, launched last year.
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However, Netflix is already boosting the proposition. Currently Basic with Ads only offers one screen at a time with a 720p max resolution. That’s being boosted to 1080p to match the Netflix Standard plan.
Furthermore, you’ll also be able to watch on two screens at a time, meaning the kids can enjoy some cartoons on the iPad while you watch some drama on the big TV.
Brits won’t get the upgrade immediately, but Netflix has confirmed it will come to all 12 countries where the ad-supported plan is available.
The announcement was made during Netflix’s earnings call (via flatpanelshd). The company wrote: “We are pleased with the current performance and trajectory of our per-member advertising economics. In the US for instance, our ads plan already has a total ARM (subscription + ads) greater than our standard plan. So this month we’ll upgrade the feature set of our ads plan to include 1080p versus 720p video quality and two concurrent streams in all 12 ads markets – starting with Canada and Spain today.
“We believe these enhancements will make our offering even more attractive to a broader set of consumers and further strengthen engagement for existing and new subscribers to the ads plan.”
Some features will still be missing, including the access to 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos audio feeds and offline downloads will remain behind the higher tariffs. Netflix is still building an audience for the ad-supported platform, which might explain why it is sweetening the pot somewhat by throwing in some more features.
If you do subscribe to this tier, you can expect an average of 3-4 minutes of commercials per hour, with a maximum length of 30 seconds. Thankfully, kids content is exempt. Gaps in the library should be lessened when licensing arrangements are sorted out.
