Netflix says it's looking to "retire" its cheapest, ad-free plan in some countries, according to a shareholder letter from Tuesday.

Netflix will implement the change in Canada and the U.K. in the second quarter of the year before “taking it from there,” the letter said.

The company did not specify when (or whether) the change would impact U.S. subscribers.

  • @[email protected]English
    -2•5 months ago

    Most streaming content is licensed, not owned by the streaming platform. Anyone could start their own streaming service and get licenses for existing content, assuming they had the capital to do so.

    • @[email protected]English
      13•5 months ago

      That is increasingly not true, which is why there is so many different platforms - every rights owner rather starts their own platform, than licensing to someone else and sharing the profit.

      • @[email protected]English
        7•5 months ago

        And even if they’re willing to license, it’s usually at an exorbitant cost that it’s unsustainable at prices people are willing to pay for your platform. Netflix had said Friends was costing them tens of millions of dollars to keep on their platform: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/netflix-friends-100-million-streaming-tv/

        When a rumor began circulating in December 2018 that ’90s sitcom Friends would not be available on Netflix after this year, the notion seemed to wake a sleeping giant, with subscriber uproar quickly leading to a deal that reportedly cost the streaming service $100 million to retain the popular show through 2019.

        $100 million for one year. Insanity.