[imagesource: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg]

Netflix is changing its tune.

The giant video-streaming platform said in a letter to shareholders in 2019 that it would remain advertising free as “that remains a deep part of our brand proposition”.

But then came 2022, which has all in all been a bit of a nightmare for Netflix.

CNN reported that the streaming giant lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade, which sent the stock price plummeting and lost billions in market cap. It was forced to lay off hundreds of employees.

Doubts about the viability of the entire streaming market rippled across the industry at that point.

Then along came the humble ad to save the day:

The streaming giant unveiled “Basic with Ads,” its much anticipated ad-supported subscription plan, on Thursday. The new tier will cost $6.99 a month in the US and be available Nov. 3 in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain and the UK.

The company said that “current plans and members will not be impacted” and that “Basic with Ads complements our existing ad-free Basic, Standard and Premium plans.”

South Africa is not yet among the launch countries, but it should hit our shores in due course.

This ad-full option will be pretty similar to the current $9,99 (R180) a month Basic plan, except with an added four to five minutes of commercials per hour of streaming.

These ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long and will play before and during TV series and movies.

Netflix said that it would do its best to make sure the ads are relevant to consumers and consistent with an advertiser’s brand.

TechCentral noted that between 5% and 10% of Netflix’s programming will not be available on the ad-supported alternative because of licensing restrictions, though.

The new ad-supported subscription plan is a big moment in Netflix’s 25-year history and one that it hopes will keep it afloat.

[sources:cnn&techcentral]