Netflix‘s ‘with ads’ plan now has more than 23 million monthly active users. This is according to Amy Reinhard, the company’s president of advertising, who provided the updated figure during the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES 2024 in Las Vegas.
Netflix introduced its Standard with ads plan back in November 2022. By May of last year, the ad-supported tier was credited with having close to five million global monthly active users. Less than a year later, and after hitting 15 million global monthly active users in November 2023, that number has now climbed to more than 23 million.
As Variety reports, Reinhard also indicated 85% of those on the service’s ad-supported plan are streaming Netflix for more than two hours per day. A figure which suggests the vast majority of ad-supported accounts are accessing the service on a routine basis.
Along with the increase in monthly active users, the Standard with ads plan has also matured quickly over time. Originally launched as a Basic with ads plan, the ad-supported tier gained some notable improvements last year, bringing it more in line with the Standard plan and resulting in the change of name.
The improvements haven’t ended, either. In November, Netflix confirmed plans to introduce a new ad format that rewards viewers for binge watching by allowing them to watch select episodes without ads. This new format is due to go live in the first quarter of 2024.
Another selling point for the ‘with ads’ plan is the price. At $6.99 a month, the Standard with ads plan hasn’t incurred a price increase at all since launch, and with the removal of the Basic plan last year, it is now less than half the price of the next cheapest tier – Netflix’s $15.49 a month Standard plan.
Not to mention, the ad-supported plan is also less than a third of the cost of Netflix’s best Premium plan, following a price increase last year which upped the cost to $22.99 a month.
In our own testing, we found the ad load to be very light compared to ad-supported tiers offered by other streaming services, making the Standard with ads plan a good option in general, and not just for those looking to save on the cost.
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