Apple TV Users Rejoice: Netflix's Budget-Friendly Ad-Supported Plan Finally Arrives

Last November, Netflix introduced a new, more affordable subscription plan with advertisements, known as "Basic with Ads." This budget-friendly option came with some restrictions, such as access to only Netflix original content, the presence of ads during video playback, no offline viewing capability, and no support for higher resolution streaming.

One significant limitation was that this ad-supported subscription was not available on Apple TV. Netflix didn't provide any explanation for this at the time. However, the streaming giant has now finally brought support for the ad-supported tier to Apple TV users, confirming the update via email without any formal announcement.

Priced at $6.99 in the US market, the ad-supported subscription (Basic with Ads) is $3 cheaper than the ad-free Netflix Basic plan. Despite the lower price, the ad-supported tier doesn't seem to be as popular as Netflix had hoped. Advertisers have reported that the ad-based subscription has been performing poorly, with less than a million subscribers. Consequently, Netflix has allowed ad agencies to get refunds for unused ad prepayments.

As Netflix continues to crack down on password sharing to encourage or perhaps force more users to sign up for their subscriptions, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will translate into more subscribers. With the ad-supported subscription now available on Apple TV, will this move help boost the struggling tier? Time will tell if Netflix's strategy pays off in the long run.