Earlier this month, Netflix waded into the ad-supported waters for the first time. Its lowest-cost subscription model, “Basic with Ads,” is priced at $6.99 per month in 720p and already appears to have carved out a solid subscriber base.
According to CivicScience’s latest data, 25% of U.S. adults familiar with the plan have already used it (18% are current users, as in individuals with some form of access to the Netflix ad-supported plan – whether they’re personally paying for the account or not). Another 10% hope to give it a try. This aligns with our prior tracking, which found 36% of Americans were likely to try a cheaper Netflix plan ahead of the launch. If the 7% of early defectors is any indication, it’s too soon to tell how many of them will stick with the ads.
Two platforms that stream live television, ESPN+ and Hulu + Live TV (distinct from basic Hulu plans), are once again leading the pack for ad-supported Netflix crossover, mirroring their users’ prior intent to sign up for Basic with Ads. Streaming fans who use other services more similar in content to Netflix (Disney+, standard Hulu, Paramount+) are less likely to currently use Basic with Ads – with Hulu users, another service featuring a prominent ad-sponsored plan, currently exhibiting the smallest share of overlap.
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