Major platform restructures its subscription tiers
The new lineup pushes the ad-supported plan to the front and quietly raises the price of going without ads.
A major streaming platform has restructured its subscription lineup, moving its advertising-supported plan to the most prominent position in the signup flow while raising the price of the ad-free tier for the second time in under two years.
Why the ad tier keeps getting promoted
Advertising revenue per subscriber on these plans has grown faster than subscription revenue across the sector. A viewer on a cheaper ad-supported plan can be worth more than one paying a higher flat fee, provided the platform can actually sell the inventory, and the larger services increasingly can.
The ad tier stopped being the budget option some time ago. For the platforms it is now the preferred option, and the pricing is designed to steer you there.
A media analyst covering the sector
What changes for existing subscribers
- Current ad-free subscribers move to the new price at their next renewal
- The entry-level ad plan gains higher resolution streaming
- A cheaper annual option was removed from the signup page
Churn is the number to watch. Price rises of this size historically produce a short spike in cancellations followed by partial recovery, and the platform will be betting that its upcoming original slate keeps that spike shallow.
Competitors are expected to follow within months. Sector pricing has moved in near lockstep for three years, and few platforms have shown appetite to hold a low price while rivals raise theirs.
