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Netflix With Ads Is Not Free. Here’s What It Includes And What It Excludes

Netflix With Ads Is Not Free. Here’s What It Includes And What It Excludes

LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 20: A sign is posted in front of Netflix headquarters (Photo by Justin … [+] Sullivan/Getty Images)Getty Images
The thing about free TV is that, while it has ads, it’s … free. Netflix with ads, however, will not be free, the company announced today when it finally provided details about the long-anticipated ad-supported version of the most popular streaming long-form video platform on the planet.

The new Netflix tier is called Basic With Ads, and it’s launching in 12 countries in November for $6.99 US. Basic with Ads joins existing Basic, Standard, and Premium plans, and includes:

  • Almost all of Netflix in terms of shows, but not all
  • Some movies and TV shows won’t be available due to licensing restrictions
  • 720P video quality, not 1080P or 4K
  • Permitted use on one device at a time (can be a phone, tablet, computer, or TV)
  • 4-5 minutes of ads per hour which will play both before and during content
  • 15-30 second unskippable ad units (you also can’t fast forward during ads)
  • Ads will be targeted by country and type of show you’re watching, but also what Netflix knows about you (for example: age, gender, location, and what you watch on Netflix)
  • Ads will not be shown on kids’ profiles
  • No ads will show during Netflix games
  • No ability to download shows for offline viewing, like on a flight or trip to the no-internet-here cabin

Genuine question: will the number of people watching on kids’ accounts grow as a means to avoid ads? I guess we’ll see.
“We’re confident that with Netflix starting at $6.99 a month, we now have a price and plan for every fan,” Greg Peters, Netflix Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer said in a statement. “While it’s still very early days, we’re pleased with the interest from both consumers and the advertising community — and couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead. As we learn from and improve the experience, we expect to launch in more countries over time.”
Basic with Ads will soon be added to this screen of Netflix account typesJohn Koetsier
It’s probably true that Netflix has a price and plan for most fans, but not all if you want good old-fashioned free TV.
Granted, that’s rare today given that most people pay either for cable, satellite, or streaming services — or some combination of those three — plus of course internet access fees. But some still get terrestrial TV for free: in the UK, for example, people can get 70 free-to-air standard channels, 15 HD channels and around 30 radio services over digital terrestrial TV. There are hundreds of TV stations still broadcasting over the air in the US as well.

For streamers or those considering it, $7 is not onerous, and probably neither is 4-5 minutes of ads per hour. And the ability to watch what you want when you want is also worth something. Of course, as we’ve seen with other media, the percentage of time and space allocated to advertising seems to inevitably creep upwards.

The question now is: will other streaming services like Disney+ and HBO Max start to follow suite with their own cheaper ad-supported services?
Basic with Ads will be available in these countries at launch:

  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Spain
  • UK
  • USA

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Here’s How Much More You Have To Pay For Streaming Services Compared To Last Year

Here’s How Much More You Have To Pay For Streaming Services Compared To Last Year

Topline
Disney+ on Wednesday became the latest streaming service to raise its monthly subscription prices—joining others like Netflix and Amazon Prime—as media companies seek to increase profitability for their platforms.

Several major streaming services have hiked their prices in 2022.
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Key Facts

Disney+ will raise its monthly subscription cost to $10.99 starting December, which means users will now have to pay an additional $3 every month to enjoy the same ad-free streams of their favorite Marvel, Disney or Star Wars shows.

Netflix, which continues to report a slump in subscriber numbers, raised prices across all its tiers in March this year with the service’s basic plan now costing $9.99 per month (up by $1), Standard HD plan priced at $15.49 (up by $1.50) and Premium 4K plan priced at $19.99 (up by $2).

Hulu—Disney’s adult-focussed streamer—will also see the price of its ad-supported tier jump by $1 to $7.99 a month, while its premium ad free tier will be hiked by $2 to $14.99 per month.

ESPN+—the sports-focused streaming platform owned by Disney—announced a $3 price hike to $9.99 in June.

Amazon Prime, the e-commerce giant’s all-in-one subscription service which includes the streamer Prime Video, hiked its annual price by $20 to $139 a year in February.

What To Watch For
HBO Max is currently priced at $14.99 per month for its ad-free premium tier while its ad-supported tier costs $9.99. Earlier this month, the streaming platform’s new parent Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to merge the service with Discovery+, which costs $6.99 per month without ads and $4.99 with ads. No pricing strategy has been announced for this merged version of HBO Max but it is very likely it will cost more.

Tangent
To somewhat soften the blow for consumers, most of the major streaming services have either launched or have announced plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported tier. Disney+ will get an ad-supported tier in December which will cost $7.99—same as the current price of the ad-free plan. After years of reticence, Netflix in July announced plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported plan that will not feature all of its content library. HBO Max jumped on the ad-supported bandwagon last year, launching a $9.99 per month plan. Subscribers who choose HBO Max’s cheaper plan are still able to watch its flagship HBO TV shows without any ads—just like the premium cable channel—and are only served ads while watching other content.

Further Reading
Netflix Loses Subscribers As Disney+ Catches Up: Here’s How The Major Streaming Services Are Faring So Far This Year (Forbes)
Disney+ Launching Cheaper Ad-Supported Tier In December (Forbes)
HBO Max And Discovery+ Will Combine Into One Streaming Service (Forbes)
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Netflix customers mad over plan to charge for password sharing

Netflix customers mad over plan to charge for password sharing

More like Netflix and bill.

The days of freeloading off a friend’s Netflix account could soon be over: As part of an ongoing campaign to crack down on rampant password sharing, the California-based streaming giant unveiled plans to charge primary account holders extra for users outside their households.

“For the last year, we’ve been working on ways to enable members who share outside their household to do so easily and securely, while also paying a bit more,” Chengyi Long, Netflix’s director of product innovation, wrote in a blog post.

The streamer had previously ignored extra-familial account-sharing despite banning the rampant practice. (Sharing among those who live in the same household is still permitted.) However, they decided to make a change after deeming that “impacted our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members.”

Now, the company is testing a new feature in Chile, Peru and Costa Rica that allows Standard and Premium plan holders “to add sub-accounts for up to two people they don’t live with — each with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password,” per the site. These will run subscribers 2,380 Chilean pesos in Chile, $2.99 in US dollars in Costa Rica and 7.9 nuevo sol in Peru.

Additionally, the pilot program permits subscribers to transfer user profiles to new accounts — which would, in theory, inspire freeloaders to pay for their own plans.

Netflix may soon start cracking down on users who share passwords with those who live in other households.Netflix may soon start cracking down on users who share passwords with those who live in other households.Future Publishing via Getty Imag

Nonetheless, many streaming devotees weren’t thrilled with the proposed policy, which they deemed just another way to strong-arm customers for extra cash.

“Netflix will lose a lot of customers if they do this password-sharing crackdown they plan to do,” fumed one displeased customer on Twitter. “Charging extra and crap. Especially when they don’t carry a lot of good content anymore like some of the other streaming apps.”

Another deemed the measure unfair as it penalized family members who don’t live in the same household.

“How do you expect families to handle password sharing in the case of divorcees, their children or college students away from home?” they wrote. “We already pay a lot for it, now you’re just milking us for every dollar spent.”

Fortunately, Long said that Netflix will be “working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world.”

The trial is part of the streamer’s ongoing campaign to ensure revenue is not lost as the streaming space has grown increasingly competitive. According to an analysis by research firm Parks Associates, password piracy and sharing cost streaming providers $9.1 billion in 2019 alone. The firm estimates that figure will rise to $12.5 billion by 2024.

In a similar cash-reaping policy two months ago, Netflix hiked its monthly subscription prices by $1 to $2 a month in the US, depending on the plan, in order to help it pay for programming costs.

 
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Free streaming movies and TV: Good, but not too good to be true

Free streaming movies and TV: Good, but not too good to be true

It’s been years since I quit cable TV and switched to ad-free streamers such as Netflix. But now, with creeping prices and subscription fatigue setting in, I’ve pruned my streaming diet. To cut costs, I’ve tried out free, mostly ad-based services to hold me over until the next binge-worthy show compels me to re-subscribe.
There’s a surprising number of solid, 100% legal, digital freebies out there on apps dedicated to subscription-less streaming. You won’t find features available in paid services, such as 4K video resolution, downloads for offline viewing or content libraries full of the latest buzzworthy shows.

There are even some free live-TV options, though none of these will replace full-blown TV packages, with news, sports and more, that keep people paying upward of $50 a month. But if you’re a casual watcher who enjoys a good rerun or cinema classic, you’ll find plenty. Many services are owned by major studios. And some do offer original shows, too.
The catch? Intermittent ad breaks, just like TV from the good ol’ days. (As you’ll read below, some ad-free options exist for people with active library cards.)
An estimated 18% of U.S. households used a free, ad-based TV service as of last winter, more than double compared with the previous year, according to Kantar, an analytics firm. Subscribers to ad-free paid services are down, while both free and paid services with ads are up, the firm said. Last month, Netflix posted its first quarterly subscriber loss in over a decade.
Ads are tolerable, as long as we’re not forced to watch too many. Respondents to a survey by consulting firm Deloitte said nine minutes of ads an hour was just the right amount, but more than 16 minutes was too much.
How many ads would it take for me to run screaming back to a $15-a-month, premium HBO Max subscription? I streamed hours of movies and TV—and commercials—and assessed the quality of the libraries, plus the content-to-commercial ratio. In general, you’ll experience fewer ads on these streamers compared with traditional network TV.
Here are some free streaming services to try, starting with the least annoying.
Kanopy
Watched: “Parasite,” “Boyhood,” “Lady Bird”
Ads: None
The service requires a membership at participating local libraries. Students at partner universities can also access Kanopy. Users are allotted a certain number of credits each month (my local library in San Francisco offers 15), and each movie or TV episode requires one credit. There’s a section just for Academy Award winners and nominees, and a substantial selection of PBS shows, including Masterpiece series.
Hoopla
Watched: “Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “13 Going on 30″
Ads: None
Hoopla, which also offers ebooks and audiobooks, is similar to Kanopy. Content is free as long as you have a library card. You can “borrow” titles for three days, and some can be downloaded offline via the Hoopla mobile app. There’s a kids mode that flips on a filter for age-appropriate content such as “The Iron Giant” and “Lego Atlantis.”

Amazon Freevee
Watched: “Knives Out,” “Emma,” “Logan”
Ads: During a movie, there were two ads an hour, each up to 75 seconds long
Freevee, formerly known as IMDB TV, is hosted on Amazon’s site, alongside its paid Prime Video content. You can stream content on the web, or through streaming media players and consoles. There are a few original series, as well as TV shows and movies. If you have an Amazon Prime membership, click the “Free to Me” tab, which combines Prime Video and Freevee offerings. If you don’t subscribe to Prime, you’ll just see Freevee’s library.
Tubi
Watched: “Green Lantern,” “Pearl Harbor,” “The Holiday”
Ads: Movies had three commercial breaks an hour, ranging from 25 seconds to two minutes long
Tubi, owned by Fox Corp., has a sizable selection of recognizable titles and can be accessed on a variety of devices, from the web to Apple TV and gaming consoles. The kids section includes “Stuart Little,” “Surf’s Up” and more. For grown-ups, there are a lot of nostalgia options from the ’90s and early aughts. (Fox and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.)
The Roku Channel
Watched: “Downton Abbey,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
Ads: A one-hour show had eight ad breaks, with each about 30 seconds to a minute long
Roku, the maker of popular streaming devices, has its own free content hub, available through a web browser, mobile app, Roku device or compatible smart TV. It includes a mix of live TV from news channels, such as NBC News and ABC News, and on-demand movies and shows. You can also subscribe to premium paid channels through the service, such as Showtime and Starz.
Pluto TV
Watched: “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” “Anchorman,” “Star Trek”
Ads: An on-demand movie had five commercials an hour, each two minutes long
The service—owned by Paramount Global, formerly known as ViacomCBS—includes content from the parent company’s networks, including shows such as “Survivor” and movies such as “Star Trek.” My gripe with Pluto TV is that it doesn’t show you when ads are coming—they pop up intermittently throughout a movie. There are also live TV channels with programming spanning sports reruns, entertainment and news, but the channels are distinct from the versions available on the broadcast networks. CNN on Pluto TV, for example, shows the latest headlines but doesn’t offer the same programming as cable.
Peacock
Watched: “Mary Queen of Scots,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation”
Ads: A 22-minute episode had three ad breaks, each about a minute long
NBC’s Peacock offers channels, as well as on-demand content, on its web-browser platform and mobile apps. Alongside free content, you’ll see some titles marked with a purple feather. Those require a paid subscription to Peacock’s $5-a-month premium plan. For popular shows, you’ll get one season free, but then you have to pay to watch the rest.

Many cellular providers include streaming services as part of their plans. Check yours to see if you’re already paying for a subscription.
Some unlimited data AT&T customers can get access to HBO Max. The AT&T-owned Cricket Wireless carrier includes an ad-supported subscription to HBO Max with its $60-a-month plan. T-Mobile Magenta and Magenta Max customers with two or more lines get Netflix included. Subscribers also get a year of Apple TV+ and Paramount+. Metro by T-Mobile unlimited plans cover Amazon Prime membership, including Prime Video. Sprint Unlimited Plus plans come with the ad-supported version of Hulu. Verizon Unlimited customers on the service’s $45-a-month and $55-a-month plans get the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle.
If you want to cut down on costs more, without missing the Show of the Moment, become a darter: Sign up and binge when the new season arrives. Just don’t forget to cancel before you jump ship.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text

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I started tech budgeting and you should do it too

I started tech budgeting and you should do it too

Before going to bed one-night last month, I got a text message: “You have spent Rs 459 via debit card at Amazon.” I read the message and slept. Later, in the morning, when I woke up I read the message again and wondered why Rs 459 was charged to my debit card. I then checked the Amazon app and realised I forgot to turn off auto-renewal. Rs 459 is not a huge sum but it pinched me a lot when the money was deducted from my account for a service I no longer use. That day I realised I need to seriously understand my monthly expenses better, especially the amount spent on services and apps. I am not trying to be a personal finance expert but I want to share my experience and a few tips you can apply to better manage your tech budget.
Understand where your money is going 
Whether you are a student or a working professional, start paying attention to the basic fundamental components of financial literacy. Nobody will tell you what is more important: a coffee at a cafe or paying the EMI of your smartphone before the due date? The point is to understand the benefits of financial literacy so that you know where your money is going. Every penny matters. Until a few months back, I was randomly purchasing vintage gadgets on OLX and because of that, I messed up my finances. I still buy vintage gadgets but now I look at my bank balance and review my spending before buying anything new.
Disney Hotstar Plus offers three tiers and each plan costs more than the other. (Image credit: Disney)
Allocating monthly budget for streaming services 
About a month back, I logged into my savings account and started calculating the money I spent on subscriptions. To put it simply, it was a shock, especially the fact that there were so many monthly subscriptions I had forgotten about. It is easy to subscribe to subscription services, but hard to keep using them or to keep a tab of what you are spending on these.
First, let me tell you how many subscription services I have subscribed to:
Apple Music
Netflix
Amazon Prime
PlayStation Plus
Google Doc
Alt Balaji
Zee5
Xbox Game Pass
Disney Hotstar Plus
Apple TV Plus
Here’s what I did to cut down on my expenses on streaming and subscription services.
Identify the services you can cancel 
Sit down on the weekend and figure out which services to keep and which ones to cancel. For example, if you have signed up for Netflix and lately have not been watching any shows that appeal to you, simply cancel the subscription. It may save you Rs 499 a month. Instead, save the money for another important financial goal, such as travelling or paying EMI for the laptop you just bought. The good thing about these services is that you can go back anytime and resume whenever there is a show coming that is interesting enough.

It is easy to subscribe to subscription services, but hard to keep using them or to keep a tab of what you are spending on these. (Image credit: Netflix website)
Choose the basic subscription tier
I know people whose only mode of entertainment is access to Netflix or Amazon Prime since they don’t have cable at home. I will tell them to choose the basic, non-premium subscription tier and save some cash. Netflix, for example, costs Rs 149 for a mobile-only plan. Opting for that plan makes a lot of financial sense if your viewing is limited to mobile. Before subscribing to any service, ask yourself if you really need the super-premium subscription plan. Like, Disney Hotstar Plus offers three tiers and each plan costs more than the other. Its Rs 1,499 annual plan is pointless if you don’t have a 4K TV at home but four people can log in using the same account and enjoy content ad-free.
Apple One bundle brings together Apple’s premium services offerings, such as Apple Music and Apple Arcade, at a discount. (Image credit: Apple)
Look for a bundled plan 
Instead of subscribing to individual services, opt for a bundle that brings a lot of services under one umbrella. I don’t know if you have heard about Apple One, it’s a services bundle that brings together Apple’s premium services offerings, such as Apple Music and Apple Arcade, at a discount. I recently subscribed to the Apple One Individual Plan, where I got access to Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud Storage, all for Rs 195 a month. Previously, I was paying individually for Apple Music and Apple Arcade, and both services cost more than Rs 200 a month. Another reason to choose the Apple One bundle is Severance on Apple TV Plus, a show I am currently hooked to.
Hot tip: Make sure you are aware of the mobile data plans that come with free access to popular streaming services. Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vi (previously Vodafone) have prepaid and postpaid plans with a free subscription to streaming services. 
Dedicate a monthly budget 
This is probably the biggest lesson I learned about money in the past decade. Not only does budgeting help you reach your financial goals if you stick to it, but documenting every expense incurred in a month is a smarter move in the long run. Here’s how to do it.
A fixed sum for streaming services: Commit a budget that you need to spend on streaming and subscription services. A simple way to divide it is by using the 50/20/30 rule of budgeting. Essentially, you are breaking your income into three parts: 50% of your income goes to basic needs (house rent, groceries, etc), 20% goes to savings (and debt repayment), and 30% is to spend on personal use (eating out, streaming services, etc). If it works, a monthly budget will give a lot of flexibility. In my case, I have figured out which services I want to use and based on that I am dedicating a monthly budget. For me, the biggest challenge is to get into the habit of knowing how much I have to spend each month.

Track where your money goes: Write it down on paper, maintain a spreadsheet or use budgeting apps, and note down every expense you have for a month. The ability to make better financial decisions is what you need to learn and that too quickly.
Try using budgeting apps to track all your streaming services and apps on the go. (Image credit: Billbot/screenshot)
Categorize your expenses by type: I might be paying a little more on PlayStation Plus but I don’t have to pay bank or credit card companies for a new iPhone 13 in the form of monthly instalments. I have the liberty to cancel the subscription to PlayStation Plus any day, but you don’t have the option to skip the monthly instalment and pay it later.
Leave room for flexibility in your budget: I have seen people who allocate a monthly budget with great enthusiasm but are unable to stick to a budget when their income is not stable. This is the hard reality. Budgeting can be a lot difficult when your income is not stable or spending is consistent. You know you are planning a trip to Dharamshala, so your tech budgeting needs to be done accordingly. Can I cut back on a premium subscription to Spotify for three months and dedicate that money to renting a bike instead? Understand that your income or spending varies on a monthly basis. You don’t have to cut back on everything; it’s all about priorities in life.

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