Four months after it first launched on other devices, the Netflix Basic with Ads subscription plan is finally available on Apple TV devices.
The new addition was first discovered on Reddit as part of the 2.3.0 update of the Netflix app on Apple TV. It was then confirmed by Netflix to TechCrunch.
At a price of $6.99/£4.99 per month, it is the cheapest tier of the streaming service saving you $3/£2 on the next tier up – the regular Netflix Basic option.
Netflix has told advertisers that subscribers of this tier doubled at the beginning of this year; likely a response to energy bills and living expenses rising. It may also become even more popular when Netflix steams ahead with its password sharing crackdown.
In exchange for the lower cost, viewers must settle for a handful of pre-roll and mid-roll ad breaks – the number and length are usually determined by how long the show/movie is. There is also a more limited library than the one available on ad-free tiers, with some big shows such as The Office and Arrested Development missing.
You can see how the commercials work in more detail in my hands-on of the Netflix Basic with Ads tier.
Users also have the streaming quality capped at 720p (HD) and have no simultaneous streams available, the same as it is on the Basic tier.
The Netflix app can be downloaded from the Apple TV app store, and you can sign up for Netflix here. If you’re not sure how the Netflix Basic with Ads tier compares to other subscriptions, take a look at our guide to see which Netflix plan is right for you.
