The streamer has already phased out the cheapest ad-free subscription option for new signups.

Netflix Hints at Price Increases, Plans to Retire Basic Service Amid Ad-Tier Growth::Netflix says subscriptions to its ad-supported service grew by 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
      131·
      11 months ago

      I predicted exactly this when they first announced cheaper subscriptions with ads. People were raving that they’d abandon Netflix, because of price hikes commercials and preventing unlimited shared accounts. I suppose some did, but more was added with the cheaper option. So 100% a gain for Netflix. I even considered buying stock in Netflix, but didn’t in part because the stock market was pretty shaky at the time. But it would have been a decent investment.

    • Kairos@lemmy.todayEnglish
      21·
      11 months ago

      That actually false. They lost subscribers in the areas where the change took place

    • nodsocket@lemmy.worldEnglish
      389·
      11 months ago

      I am a shareholder of Netflix. If they don’t make more profit this year the stock will go down and I will lose money.

      I use some of the income from my Netflix stock to pay for my Netflix subscription.

      Edit: looks like I just made 12% since this announcement came out!

      • 1984@lemmy.todayEnglish
        571·
        11 months ago

        True capitalism, the only thing that matters is if the stocks go up. More profits, all the time, or we call it a depression. Lol.

      • RGB3x3@lemmy.worldEnglish
        45·
        11 months ago

        I can’t tell if you’re trying to justify ever-increasing profits and screwing over customers.

        Your profits from stocks are nobody’s concern.

      • neclimdul@lemmy.worldEnglish
        12·
        11 months ago

        I don’t know if there could have been a comment that sums up the problem. To this person Netflix is no longer a product; it’s not about the best content or the best experience anymore. It’s about getting your buck.

        Netflix used to have the best content online at the best price. It now has neither and I don’t know how anyone still rationalizes subscribing.

    • prole@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      6·
      11 months ago

      It’s called rent-seeking. There’s already a well studied term for the phenomenon. I’m happy that young people are starting to recognize it, but this isn’t anything new. This is how capitalism works.

  • rando895@lemmy.mlEnglish
    53·
    11 months ago

    What I find interesting is it seems like we are again converging on the same service as cable. Which suggests that the best method of profiting off watching movies/tv at home is to have ad supported entertainment, with a monthly fee.

    Once again, the profit motive ruins something good .

  • escapedgoat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    39·
    11 months ago

    Netflix already costs over $185 a year. For that price I can rent 6 5k UHD movies a month at redbox and get much higher quality viewing. I can’t find 6 good things to watch any given month on Netflix. I might turn my membership back on for the final season of Cobra Kai or Stranger Things, but there’s just not much else that’s compelling me to spend that money.

  • WishbackJumpsta@lemmy.worldEnglish
    26·
    11 months ago

    Yeah, because its other plans are STUPIDLY expensive, their content and original shows don’t justify the price.

  • O_i@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    11 months ago

    Obligatory, “if it happens I’m out” post

    For reals though fuck these gonks

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    11 months ago

    I cancelled prime the day they sent the no more ad free email.

    Netflix doesn’t even provide me with low quality counterfeit goods that get lost in transit, so this is a super easy decision.

    Heh. What am I saying? I cancelled Netflix last year when my kid’s graduation coincided with their shared password crackdown. I only still had it so she could use it.

    • Eddie Trax@dmv.socialEnglish
      10·
      11 months ago

      Same here and I cancelled Netflix back when they announced they were cracking down on shared accounts. Arrrrrrr

    • essteeyou@lemmy.worldEnglish
      39·
      11 months ago

      If everyone learned to “use the internet” and stopped paying then there would be nothing to pay for because nobody works for free.

      • CriticalMiss@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        11 months ago

        If everyone learned to use the internet then those companies would have to adapt in order to survive.

          • CriticalMiss@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            11 months ago

            Because piracy isn’t a pricing issue, it’s a service issue. If people can get a better service for free, then that’s what they’re going to do. It’s the same reason people go to McDonalds, everyone can make a mid burger at home, but McDs has already done it and will sell it at a price some people will find reasonable. If I could go to Netflix, pay them whatever it costs right now and actually watch the content at a resolution I actually paid for and download to keep myself a copy for later (because again, I bought it) then I’d pay for Netflix. Seeing as that’s not the case and likely won’t be because people keep paying for Netflix, we’re stuck with the status quo.

            • essteeyou@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1·
              11 months ago

              When you’re talking about downloading for later are you talking about while your Netflix subscription is active, or for after you terminate your subscription?

  • topperharlie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    191·
    11 months ago

    I already unsubscribed and start sailing when the account share thing happened, but people are willing to take anything these days… so good for netflix I suppose.

    101 businessman logic: slowly stretch it until numbers go down, and then back down a bit, just to keep trying stretching it further in a later time. Repeat.

    infinite growth guaranteed.

    This is why at this point I don’t trust any subscription type thing, they are all destined to end up in that cycle, which, good for them, I think it’ll have to explode eventually, or not, who cares, I’m already out anyway

  • Vertelleus@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    17·
    11 months ago

    I only had Netflix because it was free included with my T-Maybe account. They are switching it to the ad supported tier today as base, and a user has to pay extra for the non-ad supported tiers.

    My plan going forward is to watch the first episode with ads and if I like it I’ll search the high seas for the rest.

    The enshitification continues.

    • root@lemmy.zipEnglish
      5·
      11 months ago

      Once they changed it to paying that like $1 extra for the plan, I noped off TMobile. No use for it anymore when Google Fi is way cheaper for just 2 people. I just pirated everything anyways even when we had the subscription

  • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
    12·
    11 months ago

    We’ve really been weighing whether we use Netflix enough to justify the cost lately. Don’t push us, Netflix.

    • braxy29@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      11 months ago

      been free for two or three years. i haven’t missed a thing, as far as i can tell.