Netflix cuts cheapest ad-free plan in US; adds nearly 6M paid subscribers amid password crackdown
(CNN) -- Netflix is scrapping its least expensive ads-free plan for new members in the U.S. and U.K
The basic plan, a single stream for $10 a month in the U.S. and 7£ in the U.K., is no longer available for new or rejoining members.
Netflix said existing basic members can keep their plans.
The move by the streaming giant is meant to push customers to its ad-supported package, "standard with ads."
Standard with ads launched in November and costs $7 a month. It comes with an average of four minutes of unskippable ads per hour.
Netflix got rid of the basic plan in Canada last month.
Netflix adds nearly 6 million paid subscribers amid password sharing crackdown
Netflix's crackdown on password sharing appears to be paying off.
The streaming giant on Wednesday said it added nearly six million paid subscribers during the three months ending in June, bringing its total to more than 238 million globally.
The company said it has now launched paid sharing — its effort to get users to stop sharing accounts with others for free — in more than 100 countries, after beginning its broad rollout earlier this year. Netflix said revenue in those regions is now higher than before the service launched, and that "sign-ups are already exceeding cancellations."
The results come at a pivotal moment for Netflix as the streamer looks to boost revenue by restricting password sharing and introducing an ad-supported subscription option while also contending with a fresh challenge: strikes by both the Hollywood actors and writers unions that could impact its future slate of original shows and movies.
While Netflix's changes helped boost revenue for the quarter, it still fell just shy of what Wall Street analysts had expected. Netflix posted nearly $8.19 billion in revenue for the quarter, compared to the $8.3 billion Wall Street had projected. It also posted net income of $1.49 billion, up 3% from the same period in the prior year.
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"While we've made steady progress this year, we have more work to do to reaccelerate our growth," the company said in a letter to investors about the results. The company noted that subscriptions to its lower-priced, ad-supported plan have doubled since the first three months of this year but that "current ad revenue isn't material for Netflix."
Shares of Netflix (NFLX) fell more than 4% in after-hours trading Wednesday following the results.
Netflix said it expects to post revenue of $8.5 billion in the current quarter, a 7% year-over-year increase but below the nearly $8.7 billion analysts were expecting. The company added that it anticipates paid net additions in the September quarter to be similar to the figure in the June quarter.
