A few weeks ago, Netflix announced it was increasing the prices of two of its three ad-free subscription plans. However, it has kept the price of its Basics with Ads plan relatively low at just $6.99 a month since it started.
Today, on the first anniversary of the launch of that ad-based plan, Netflix announced a few improvements that could make it less annoying to watch movies and TV shows on that cheaper subscription tier.
In a blog post, Netflix stated that since the ad-based plan launched a year ago, it has added 15 million active users worldwide. It also added features like going from one to two concurrent streams along with boosting video resolutions from 720p to 1080p.
Today, the streamer announced that starting sometime at the end of this very week, subscribers of the Basics with Ads plan will be able to download movies and shows to their mobile devices for offline viewing. Netflix stated this new feature means that it will be "the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads" when it launches.
In another move that will make a lot of Netflix users with that plan very happy, the streamer will soon include a way to do away with some ads if they are in a heavy binge-watching session of, for example, The Blacklist:
Starting in Q1 2024, our advertisers globally will be able to utilize our new binge ad (wt) format that taps into the viewing behavior of watching multiple episodes in a row. After watching three consecutive episodes, members will be presented with a fourth episode ad-free.
Netflix, which works with Microsoft Advertising on its ad-based services, also announced that it will launch title sponsorships for specific shows including the upcoming reality competition series Squid Game: The Challenge and the sixth and final season of The Crown.