It’s tough out there, and if you’re looking to save a few bucks on your streaming services, you might be tempted to sign up for Netflix’s new ad-supported plan. Netflix Basic with Ads launched in the US today and will cost subscribers $6.99, but you should be warned that a certain number of popular TV shows and movies won’t be available.
According to Netflix, somewhere between 5%-10% of their content won’t be available because of licensing restrictions. Exactly which titles are missing depends on the country, but some of the TV shows that aren’t currently available on the Netflix Basic with Ads plan include Cobra Kai, Breaking Bad, The Crown, Arrested Development, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away With Murder, House of Cards, The Good Place, Peaky Blinders, New Girl, The Magicians, The Last Kingdom, The Sinner, Good Girls, and Friday Night Lights. As for the movies, those missing include Skyfall, 28 Days, The Imitation Game, and The Bad Guys. The good news is that these titles may return as Netflix chief operating officer Greg Peters said that they’re “going to be working on reducing [the number of missing titles] over time.“
As for how many ads you’ll experience on Netflix if you go with the new plan, you can expect to be subjected to between four to five minutes of ads per hour for both TV shows and movies. However, for new movies, Grey Peters said that they “will just have a pre-roll” of commercials prior to the feature, which will then play uninterrupted. Pretty much what you already experience at the theater. “We’ll try to preserve that sort of cinematic model there,” Peters said.
Even with the missing popular titles, will you be making the switch to Netflix Basic with Ads to save a few bucks?