Canadians vow to cancel Netflix subscriptions as streamer set to remove cheapest ad-free plan

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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.

“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.

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.

Now, the plan is being phased out on a rolling basis depending on a person’s billing cycle, with members being notified of dates and deadlines over email or on the service.

Netflix users won’t automatically be subscribed to a different plan and will be given the choice to select another package or end their membership.

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% 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.

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

Are you a Netflix Basic plan subscriber? What are your thoughts on these changes? Sound off in the comments or email us at trending@dailyhive.com.

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