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

By: David Friend, The Canadian Press Posted: Last Modified:

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 (1155 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.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A school door, for a story on teacher misconduct, in Winnipeg on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. For Katrina story. Winnipeg Free Press 2022.

Provincial teacher watchdog releases names, details in three disciplinary matters

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Preview

Provincial teacher watchdog releases names, details in three disciplinary matters

Maggie Macintosh 6 minute read Yesterday at 6:07 PM CDT

An Interlake teacher with a history of “intimidating” outbursts has been ordered to participate in counselling and study anger-management strategies after he made a child cry.

Read
Yesterday at 6:07 PM CDT
File Canada needs its own east-west electrical grid.

Time for a stronger all-Canadian grid

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Time for a stronger all-Canadian grid

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

The kneebone is connected to … non-contiguously, pretty much every other bone in your body.

Unfortunately.

But more on that later.

The New York Times published a quite terrifying story on the U.S. electrical grid this week, one that points out that, with a few simple directed attacks on nine of 10 major U.S. substations, the entire U.S. power grid could be disabled.

Read
2:00 AM CDT
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Winnipegger Braxton Kuntz shot a stellar five-under 65 to finish just one shot shy of the lead after the first round of the Manitoba Open Thursday.

Winnipegger just one shot off the lead after opening round at Manitoba Open

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Winnipegger just one shot off the lead after opening round at Manitoba Open

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Yesterday at 9:17 PM CDT

Braxton Kuntz began the week not knowing if he’d even be able to play in the Manitoba Open.

The 22-year-old Winnipegger will head to Elmhurst early Friday morning just one shot off the lead — hanging tough with the heavyweights from PGA Tour Americas — after firing a fantastic five-under 65 Thursday afternoon.

“Playing in front of friends, family, a nice gallery watching out there…to start out like that, I’m putting myself in contention,” said Kuntz.

He didn’t realize just how close he was until the Free Press informed him that only Kentucky’s Drew Doyle, who has already won on tour earlier this season, had posted a better score among the 156-player field. Doyle shot a six-under 64.

Read
Yesterday at 9:17 PM CDT
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Premier Wab Kinew says if the province decides to put U.S. liquor back into stores, Manitobans should leave it there.

Don’t buy U.S. booze if, when it’s back on Liquor Mart shelves: Kinew

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Preview

Don’t buy U.S. booze if, when it’s back on Liquor Mart shelves: Kinew

Chris Kitching 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:22 PM CDT

Manitoba hasn’t agreed to put American liquor back on shelves despite Prime Minister Mark Carney’s request while his government finalizes a trade deal with the U.S. to avoid new tariffs.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:22 PM CDT

Educated people vote

John R. Wiens 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

I add my voice to Erna Buffie’s Think Tank piece “Democracy is a civic election issue” (Aug. 13) by asserting that democracy is a public education issue. Put another way, this fall’s municipal and school board elections are a test of public education — educating democratic citizens who appreciate our democratic inheritance enough to take responsibility for renewing it.

Voter turnouts for elections in Canada are abysmal. Where there should be 100 per cent participation, it often approaches 50 per cent federally and provincially, 25 per cent in local elections. The explanations given seem insufficient and unsatisfying, as are the reasons given by those who decide not to bother.

Some say they feel disempowered and alienated from the political process, feeling they have no say in governmental decisions which rule their lives.

Others appear resigned to the fact that, if they were to speak, they would simply be passed over or ignored, choosing not to vote because their votes, like their voices, make no difference and count for nothing. Still others say they’re too busy or just don’t care.

CIBINEL ARCHITECTURE Elmwood Hub will replace the Elmwood Community Resource Centre at 545 Watt St. with 115 housing units and on-site support services.

Planned Elmwood Hub project combines 115 mixed-income housing units, social supports, programs

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Planned Elmwood Hub project combines 115 mixed-income housing units, social supports, programs

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026

A long-awaited project will aim to add 115 new homes in Elmwood, with on-site social programs to support some of its more vulnerable residents.

Read
Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026