Netflix is ​​quietly scrapping its basic plan in Canada

Netflix has quietly discontinued the $9.99 CAD per month basic subscription in Canada for new subscribers, as first noted by the Canadian publication BlogTo. This simplifies the streaming company’s offerings, but leaves a big gap between the ad-supported plan and the Standard plan

The company’s plans still start at $5.99 CAD per month with its recently introduced ad-supported plan, which includes most of the Netflix catalog with support for 1080p HD streaming. If users want to remove ads and enable downloads, they have to pay $16.99 CAD per month for the Standard plan.

As a reminder, the Basic plan offered ad-free streaming, but was limited to 720p and one concurrent stream. People currently paying for the Basic plan can continue with the plan until they cancel the account.

“The Basic plan is no longer available to new or returning members. If you’re currently on the Basic plan, you can keep this plan until you change plans or cancel your account,” the company said on its support page.

We’ve reached out to Netflix to find out if the company plans to make similar decisions in other markets, and we’ll update the story if the company makes any comments. In the US, Netflix already hides the basic subscription when you try to create a new account. You need to click “See all plans” to view it.

This is how it looks in the US (green arrows added for emphasis):

Canada was one of the first markets to receive ad-supported plans last year, followed by launches in other markets such as the US, Australia, Japan and Korea. In April, Netflix increased the benefits of its ad-supported plan to enable Full HD streaming and support for two simultaneous streams.

Last month, the company said it has attracted more than 5 million users around the world for its ad-based plans. Notably, the streaming giant has yet to launch this level in many countries. Analyst reports estimate that Netflix will earn more than $1.9 billion in ad revenue next year.