Why is the Netflix Basic plan being removed in the UK and what’s replacing it?

A huge group of Netflix Basic users in the UK and Canada have received some bad news in their email inbox across the last few weeks. Anybody currently signed up to the Basic tier will be automatically moved to the cheaper, ad-supported plan in just a matter of days.

The streaming service is betting big on its advertising-based plan, a year after the Basic tier was blocked for new subscribers. On top of the Netflix password sharing crackdown, it's another aggressive move by the world's biggest streamer.

Let's look at the situation in more detail and find out how people have reacted to the fact that watching the final season of Stranger Things without ads just got a lot more expensive.

When is the Netflix Basic tier being discontinued?

Netflix subscribers in the UK who are currently paying for the £7.99 Basic plan will see that service come to an end on 4 June. On that date, subscribers will be moved to the "Standard with Ads" package. It's a cheaper service, costing just £4.99 per month, but it comes with adverts.

If Netflix UK subscribers want to experience the Netflix catalogue without ads, they will have to sign up for the Standard package. That deal currently costs £10.99, marking a significant increase from the Basic plan.

Read more: Netflix has ‘won the streaming wars’ but can it prove its ads business? (City AM)

Why is Netflix removing the Basic tier in the UK?

Read more: Which streaming bundles are available in the UK? (Yahoo Entertainment)

This move makes a lot of financial sense for Netflix. The streamer benefits greatly from putting more people on to its ad-supported tier, with this change set to transfer thousands of subscribers automatically to this package. Many of those will simply stay there, increasing the attractiveness to potential advertisers. Netflix can now offer many more eyes.

For example, a survey shared by Variety in April 2024 revealed that 27% of Netflix subscribers in the US are on the ad-supported tier. That equates to more than 20 million people as a captive audience for advertisers who work with Netflix.

It's easy to see why this decision might look like a win-win for them, as customers who are upset at having to watch adverts will now have to pay £3 more each month than they would've done on the Basic tier. The Standard tier is more than twice the price of the ad-supported plan.

Of course, there's always an element of risk for Netflix in this situation. Viewers who are sufficiently furious about the pricing decision could delete their accounts entirely. And that brings us on to how people have responded to this whole situation...

Read more: What to watch on Netflix in May 2024 from Bridgerton to Atlas (Yahoo Entertainment)

What have people said about Netflix removing the Basic tier?

It's fair to say that Netflix users in the UK and Canada — where the Basic plan is also disappearing in June — have responded with fury to the news that the tier will disappear shortly. In fact, several users have either cancelled their account already or vowed to do so when the change happens.

"Removing the basic plan from current subscribers and forcing customers to pay for adverts or go to the £10.99 per month plan ... well that's one way to lose subscribers I guess," wrote one angry subscriber.

Another user said they had chosen to cancel their plan and would "come back when WWE moves to Netflix", set for early 2025, while another described the decision as "honestly daylight robbery".

One user was even more emphatic, writing that: "My basic plan ends in June and so does my relationship with Netflix."

Read more: Netflix Says Users of Subscription Plan With Ads Hit 40 Million (Bloomberg)

It's clear that many current Netflix Basic users are very upset about the streamer's decision to abandon the cheap plan. However, it remains to be seen whether enough people will cancel for this not to be considered a success for Netflix.

For a lot of people, Netflix has been the streaming service of choice for years. There aren't many streamers that can compete with the breadth of the Netflix catalogue and the presence of big series such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and Wednesday makes it difficult to consign the service to the rubbish pile.

The proof of the pudding will be in the numbers, but it seems unlikely that this move will be anything other than a financial win for Netflix. The juggernaut of the streaming wars rolls on.