Canadians vow to cancel Netflix subscriptions over end of cheapest ad-free plan

Canadians are venting online after Netflix notified subscribers that its cheapest, ad-free plan would be discontinued.

On April 29, the streaming platform's Canadian subscribers flooded X with complaints, saying they received emails alerting them that the Basic plan would be removed.

"Ugh. Got the email from [Netflix Canada] that my basic plan is going away," reads one X post.

Ugh. Got the email from @Netflix_CA that my basic plan is going away. I don’t need more screen options & my TV doesn’t have higher resolution. So this change change has no benefits to us.

— Éric Paquette (@EricMPaq) April 30, 2024

"Why are you [Netflix Canada] cancelling the only plan I like?" another added, sharing a screenshot of them having to change their subscription.

The screenshot shows a new "Standard with ads" Netflix plan that costs $5.99 a month. According to the description, users of this package will have to sit through some ad breaks whether they use it on their phone, tablet, computer or TV.

The now-defunct $9.99 ad-free Basic Netflix plan is blacked out. It is replaced by a Standard plan that costs $16.49. It includes better video quality (1080p vs. 720p for the Basic), ad-free viewing, and the ability to download the app on two devices rather than just one.

Why are you @Netflix_CA cancelling the only plan I like? pic.twitter.com/75gKJOGi44

— WunderWandy (@wandaeby) May 3, 2024

The prices shown in the X post match the plan breakdown on Netflix's site.

This comes after the streaming giant announced that it would pull the plug on the $9.99 Basic plan in a letter to shareholders in January.

At the time, Netflix didn't specify when Canadian subscribers would have to give up the cheapest ad-free plan.

British news organization Metro reported that the changes would come into effect on June 4 in the UK and Canada. We reached out to Netflix to confirm when exactly the package will be phased out.

Viewers in Canada are frustrated, to say the least.

Many say they plan to cancel their subscriptions because they don't want to pay almost 50 per cent more to go ad-free.

"I'm not about to pay them and have to watch ads, and I'm not about to pay a bunch more for extra screens I don't use, and HD that I don't care about, just to access their rather lacklustre library of content, so it looks like I'll just be letting my subscription end with the end of my current plan," shared one angry subscriber on X.

Got an email from @Netflix_CA today, telling me that my basic plan is being discontinued.

My options going forward are apparently to pay them a bit less so I can have my content interrupted by ads, or pay them a bunch more for a bunch of features that I already previously…

— Dano (@chalackd) April 30, 2024

"It's been a good run, but not worth more than the basic plan they're getting rid of," added another.

When @Netflix_CA sends an email that basically says “We don’t want you as a customer after June 8”, is there any other response than “Why wait?”

It’s been a good run, but not worth more than the basic plan they’re getting rid of.

— Mike Scott (@mscott71) April 29, 2024

Are you a Netflix Basic plan subscriber? What are your thoughts on these changes? Sound off in the comments.