Netflix is again looking to improve the experience offered to ad-supported subscribers. Specifically, those signed up to the Standard with ads plan will gain the ability to download titles very soon, and in early 2024, gain the option to watch ad-free episodes during a binge session.
Netflix launched its ‘with ads’ plan a year ago this week. At the time, the plan was known as the Basic with ads tier. As Netflix added more features to the plan, it became less of a basic plan, and this ultimately resulted in the company rebranding the tier as Standard with ads.
To celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of the ad-supported plan, Netflix has confirmed more features are coming soon. The company also announced that the Standard with ads plan now has 15 million global monthly active users.
The first new feature coming to the ad-supported plan is the ability to download videos. Download support is due to go live by the end of this week, and all ad-supported plan members will then be able to download their favorite series and movies.
While this is a feature that’s already available with the ad-free tiers, as well as through many other streaming services, Netflix took the opportunity to point out how download support makes “Netflix the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads.“
Another improvement coming soon is the ability to watch select episodes without ads. This is made possible thanks to a new binge ad format that rewards viewers for binge watching. Basically, after watching three consecutive episodes, the viewer will be able to watch the fourth episode without ads. Ad-free binge episode support is due to arrive in the first quarter of 2024.
As mentioned, Netflix had already improved the ad-supported experience. For example, the ad-supported tier got a boost in the picture quality, as well as an increase to the number of devices that can be used to stream videos at the same time. With these latest features additions, Netflix’s cheapest plan continues to get even better.
