Netflix Scraps Ad-Free ‘Basic’ Streaming Plan in Canada

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Netflix has quietly removed its $9.99 “basic” subscription option from its pricing plans for new or reconnecting customers in Canada as it continues to refine its overall product mix and pricing worldwide.

“The Basic plan is no longer available for new or rejoining members. If you are currently on the Basic plan, you can remain on this plan until you change plans or cancel your account,” Netflix said on its Canadian plans and pricing support page.

A spokesperson for Netflix Canada declined direct comment on the phasing out of the basic ad-free subscriber plan north of the border. And there’s no indication that the end of the basic ad-free streaming package in Canada will in time spread elsewhere, including to the U.S. market.

But Netflix execs have signaled — most recently as they dropped plan prices in around 100 international markets — that the streamer would be flexible on pricing to ensure the company’s service remains accessible to various types of consumers while management looks to optimize returns.

And revenue growth appears to be the goal in Canada. North of the U.S. border, scrapping the Netflix basic plan, which only allowed the use of one screen per household at a time, leaves new subscribers to either choose the basic with ads tier, which costs $5.99 a month, or pay far more for the standard plan, costing $16.49 per month and allowing up to two screens in concurrent use.

Another premium plan offers up to four screens in concurrent use, and costs $20.99 per month. The end to the basic ad-free tier in Canada has nevertheless sparked speculation that Netflix may adopt the same move elsewhere internationally.

A year ago, Netflix introduced an ad-supported streaming plan in Canada as one of its first international markets. The $5.99 per-month ad-supported plan allows two concurrent screen uses, while the scrapped basic ad-free plan at $9.99 per month offered only one screen use at a time.

Canada also became a test market for Netflix’s paid sharing crackdown. In April, Netflix, as part of its first-quarter results shareholder letter, said more Canadians were subscribing to the streaming platform since it began to reduce the number of paid subscribers sharing their accounts.

“In Canada, which we believe is a reliable predictor for the U.S., our paid membership base is now larger than prior to the launch of paid sharing and revenue growth has accelerated and is now growing faster than in the U.S.,” Netflix told investors.