Back in July, Netflix announced it had picked Microsoft to power its upcoming ad-supported tier. This discounted tier would make up for its cheaper price by showing ads within shows and movies within the streaming service.
Now, it appears this ‘Netflix with Ads’ tier will lack a major feature of regular subscriptions: offline downloads.
According to The Tape Drive, code within the Netflix iOS app indicates offline downloads won’t be allowed with the ad-supported tier.
“Text found in Netflix’s app reveals that the new plan will not allow content to be downloaded for offline viewing. This is not a surprising move given that many other streaming services only work online,” writes developer Steve Moser.
“Downloads available on all plans except Netflix with ads,” reads the code within the Netflix iOS app.
Moser writes the Netflix app will also let customers set up their “ad experience” within the app, requiring some details so “the most relevant ads” will be shown.
Back in April, Netflix saw its first subscriber loss in over 10 years, which sent its shares plunging 25% at the time. A cheaper ad-supported plan looks to retain customers and attract new ones.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported Netflix was looking to renegotiate deals with Hollywood studios, to show ads next to popular shows. Studios are apparently seeking a premium of 15-30% over existing deals for Netflix to show ads during their flagship content.
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We are witnessing the fall of a giant. For the younger crowd this might be your first time seeing something like this. It’s over for Netflix. Hopefully the can sell the IP of stranger things for a big payout to Disney or something to soften the blow.
I have canceled Netflix many times over the years when I didn’t think I needed it and they have never even cared. Never sent an email or follow up. When I canceled about 2 months ago they began sending me DAILY emails asking me to come back. They are all worded differently and they seem to have a lot of templates set up. Some feature a show I watched and say “wow that show sure was good how about you come back and watch it again” and others mention the cost value of being subscribed.
The latest one I been getting is simply a large button that says “REJOIN WITH ONE CLICK” with a bunch of legalese at the button that if you push the link you will instantly resubscribe without any more prompts lmao wonder how many people they are getting with that one.