Netflix's cheaper plan looks to be coming a lot sooner than expected

Netflix is reportedly set to get cheaper by the way of a new ad-supported system and it looks to be arriving on the platform much sooner than originally anticipated.

As reported by The New York Times (via Variety), Netflix has seemingly brought its plans forward to introduce a tier with advertisements sometime in Q4 2022. This is a much earlier timeline than was expected with Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings saying in April that the company would look to roll out a less expensive plan "over the next year or two". 

The new date was spotted in a memo seen by The New York Times, where it cited two anonymous sources. This comes off the back of Netflix losing 200,000 subscribers during the first three months of 2022, which has subsequently seen a shareholder file a lawsuit against the company for misleading its growth. 

T3 has reached out to Netflix for comment. 

Netflix has yet to officially announce an ads-based subscription tier with no details of price or what the advertisements will resemble. The majority of its competitors – HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus – all offer a cheaper ads option with Disney Plus also set to introduce one for people in the US later this year. 

After a rise in cost came into effect in March, the standard plan for Netflix currently costs $15.49 / £10.99 / AU$16.99 per month, A cheaper basic plan for fewer devices and a higher price for more devices with Ultra HD can be purchased too.

It's been a rough couple of months for Netflix. Outside of the huge loss of subscribers, it's also made lots of show cancellations with over a dozen now not being renewed in 2022 alone. The biggest of which took place earlier this month in the form of Space Force starring Steve Carrell, which was confirmed to not be returning for a third season. 

Netflix is also set to lose another major show at the end of the month with many of its competitors now keeping their TV series on their own streaming platforms instead. Netflix clearly believes an ad system for a cheaper price will be enough to retain/draw subscribers back, regardless of all this.