STREAMING

Cheapest netflix subscription doesn't work on all devices

I recently revealed here that Netflix debuted its latest, cheapest, ad-supported subscription, which is called "Basic with Ads" and comes with inherent commitments: five minutes of ads per hour, one device at a time, with no downloads, limited to 720p resolution and with some content unavailable.

However, this new subscription level that is not yet available in Portugal has another problem, which is device compatibility, including new devices.

On the Netflix Help Center page for people who encounter the error "Basic with Ads is not supported", Netflix says that this subscription is not supported on many types of devices. Here are the devices not compatible with it:

Apple TV

Chromecast with Google TV

iOS devices not updated to iOS 15 or later

Android devices with version 7 or earlier

Playstation 3

Netflix App for Windows

On Linux systems, using Chrome (not Chromium) or Firefox (with DRM enabled in settings) should generally work fine with Netflix's Basic with Ads plan.

Why does the ad-supported Netflix plan have so many asterisks for streaming-ready devices? There is no immediate answer to this. One answer may lie in the way the ads are being associated, as they are provided by Microsoft. Microsoft acquired AT&T's Xandr programmatic advertising system in 2021, and the company had far less experience associating video ads than rivals like Google or Comcast. This doesn't fully explain why the Netflix app for Windows doesn't support the plan in question.

Netflix also moved up its timeline to launch Basic with Ads from early 2023 to early November, reportedly to arrive before a similar plan comes to Disney+. Avoiding timeline compatibility issues during an accelerated project is not uncommon. It's worth noting that when Netflix streaming services first launched, Microsoft was a key part of their limited compatibility. The tech giant's Silverlight, a sort of pseudo-Flash with extensive DRM capabilities, was implemented to bring "Play Ready DRM" to Macs.

A Netflix statement last July said that Microsoft's ad network "offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members." Some people with perfectly reasonable streaming setups, perhaps eager to save a few bucks a month, might expect flexible innovation to roll out.

mundophone