Netflix dropped the basic ad-free plan in the US and UK

Last year, Netflix unveiled a cheaper ad-supported tier in order to get more people onto its platform. This one shared most features with its basic $10 ad-free tier, and it shaved a few bucks off of the monthly bill. Well, it looks like Netflix dropped its basic ad-free plan in the US and the UK, according to Engadget.

This pretty much came out of nowhere. Netflix quietly plucked the tier from its Canadian audience not too long ago. There was no announcement beforehand. Canadian users just logged on to see that there were only three payment options again.

Netflix dropped its basic ad-free plan in the US and UK

This is both surprising and not. Netflix gave no heads-up before getting rid of the plan. We just log on and “Poof”, it’s gone. We’re not sure if the company is going to do this in more markets.

However, we shouldn’t be too shocked about this, according to the company’s recent behavior. Netflix has been heavily pushing its ad-supported tier, as we should expect. But, while pushing the ad-supported tier into the spotlight, it’s been pushing the ad-free plan into the shadows. Cord Busters notes that it’s been pretty much making the basic plan invisible while signing up.

Now that it’s gone, what if you already have the plan? Well, you don’t need to worry. Netflix isn’t going to switch you to a different plan. You’ll retain your membership until you switch to another one. After that, if you want to switch back to the basic plan, then you won’t be able to.

So, you’ll keep the plan as long as you want to. However, don’t be surprised if, a few years down the road, the company forces you to switch.

This could be hinting at something worse

Now, this is just speculation, so you’ll want to take it with a grain of salt. Offering plans at a cheaper cost just isn’t profitable, even if there are ads. We can bet that Netflix is operating at a loss with its as-supported plan. If that’s the case, then it won’t sustain forever.

In that case, what’s to happen? A price hike. However, hiking that plan’s price would make it conflict with the basic ad-free plan. So, what’s Netflix to do? Get rid of the basic ad-free plan.

If that happens, then Netflix will have a plan that costs as much (or almost as much) as the basic ad-free plan, but with ads for extra revenue. Again, this is only speculation; let’s just hope that it stays speculation.