Netflix phases out ‘basic’ streaming plan from its subscription options in Canada

Advertisement

Advertise with us

TORONTO - Netflix Canada is done with being basic.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/06/2023 (1154 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Netflix Canada is done with being basic.

The streaming giant says it’s phasing out the $9.99 “basic” option from its price plans, taking away the cheapest subscription without ads.

That means new Netflix subscribers will have to decide whether they’re ready to sit through commercial breaks or fork out a bit more money for an ad-free experience.

This is the NETFLIX screen on a television in Pittsburgh, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. Netflix Canada has quietly removed its $9.99
This is the NETFLIX screen on a television in Pittsburgh, on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. Netflix Canada has quietly removed its $9.99 "basic plan" from its menu of subscription options. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Gene J. Puskar

Netflix’s ad tier costs $5.99 and allows viewing on up to two screens at once with commercial interruptions.

The next level up is $16.49 per month to watch without ads, with simultaneous viewing on two devices. There’s also the premium plan for $20.99 with 4K high-definition video and the option to add up to two members who don’t live in their household.

The change in subscription options comes months after Netflix used the Canadian market as a testing ground for its password-sharing crackdown.

Netflix has already removed the basic tier for new subscribers and a company representative said it will also be removed as an option for current members “in the near future.”

Subscribers currently on its $9.99 basic service will be grandfathered into the plan unless they switch to another option or cancel their account.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Somali refugee admits he helped to smuggle African migrants into Manitoba for money

Erik Pindera 6 minute read Preview

Somali refugee admits he helped to smuggle African migrants into Manitoba for money

Erik Pindera 6 minute read Yesterday at 5:54 PM CDT

A Somali refugee who was twice caught by RCMP assisting in the smuggling of desperate African migrants into Manitoba during the frigid winter — including while out on bail, months after he was first arrested with eight foreign nationals in his vehicle — has admitted he did so for money.

Read
Yesterday at 5:54 PM CDT

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

‘Frustrated’ Selkirk nurses plead for help

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

‘Frustrated’ Selkirk nurses plead for help

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Yesterday at 5:21 PM CDT

The province must take immediate action to increase low staffing levels that are putting Selkirk emergency room nurses at risk, a letter sent to the premier and health minister says.

The letter, sent by the Manitoba Nurses Union and signed by 35 ER nurses, detailed multiple recent incidents at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre. In one case, a nurse was stabbed with a pen by a patient who had been waiting 24 hours for care. In another case, a nurse was bitten by a patient.

“Nurses in that emergency department are extremely frustrated,” said Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson. “This is not something that happened in the last month — or overnight — these are problems that have been growing.”

The five-page letter was sent Tuesday to Premier Wab Kinew, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and leaders of the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority. It contained 10 requests to improve safety inside the emergency department, including establishing safer nurse-to-patient staffing levels, eliminating the practice of “single physician coverage” in the emergency department and implementing an institutional safety officer around the clock.

Read
Yesterday at 5:21 PM CDT

Canada, U.S. both say they made gains in new trade deal that averted tariffs

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Canada, U.S. both say they made gains in new trade deal that averted tariffs

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:55 PM CDT

Canada-U.S. Minister Dominic LeBlanc smiled widely beside U.S. President Donald Trump's trade czar in Washington on Wednesday as they touted a draft deal which appears to have averted a new round of punishing tariffs on Canada.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:55 PM CDT

No timeline to reopen city-owned fitness facility in North Kildonan after mould discovery

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

No timeline to reopen city-owned fitness facility in North Kildonan after mould discovery

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

A city-run fitness centre that suddenly closed for repairs last October lacks a set date to reopen, while an investigation on how best to fix it is underway.

Read
Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026

Netflix to drop basic streaming plan in Canada

David Friend, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Netflix to drop basic streaming plan in Canada

David Friend, The Canadian Press 2 minute read Saturday, Jun. 24, 2023

TORONTO - Netflix Canada is done with being basic.

The streaming giant says it's phasing out the $9.99 "basic" option from its price plans, taking away the cheapest subscription without ads.

That means new Netflix subscribers will have to decide whether they're ready to sit through commercial breaks or fork out a bit more money for an ad-free experience.

Netflix's ad tier costs $5.99 and allows viewing on up to two screens at once with commercial interruptions.

Read
Saturday, Jun. 24, 2023