From today Netflix is phasing out its $10.99 Basic plan in Australia and other markets including Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico and Brazil.
A quarterly letter to its shareholders revealed that it saw "boosted adoption" of it's Standard with Ads and Standard plans following the removal of the Basic tier in countries such as Canada earlier this year.
With Basic tier removed Netflix's range of plans will look as follows:
What will happen if I'm on the Basic plan?
Customers who are currently subscribed to the Basic plan won't be affected. You're essentially grandfathered in. But new members, rejoiners and existing Netflix subscribers are losing the ability to sign up for the Basic plan.
It's no secret Netflix has been making a raft of changes in an effort to increase its revenue. The phasing out of the Basic plan has been coming for some time. At least as early as August this year, Netflix added resolution up to 1080p and two simultaneous streams to the Basic with Ads plan while the Basic plan remained limited to 720p and one stream.
Once Basic is gone, the cheapest plan without ads will be Standard at $16.99 a month. Basic plan customers were able to save $72 per year compared to being on the Standard plan.
Other ad-free streaming options
Of course, Netflix isn't a monopoly in the TV streaming space. There are several services such as Prime Video and Disney Plus with hundreds of shows available in Australia.
Compare streaming plans that cost less than Netflix's Standard tier: