After several months of delays, the ad-supported Netflix tier can now be used in the tvOS Netflix app on an Apple set-top box.
- What’s happening? A cheaper Netflix subscription tier, dubbed Basic with Ads, is now available on Apple TV after debuting in November 2022.
- Why care? In this regard, there were initially problems with tvOS. The company said it will address the issues in a future update. Now this promise has been fulfilled.
- What to do? Go to the Netflix page on the tvOS App Store to update the app.
Ad-supported Netflix launches on Apple TV
Prior to this change, when you tried to use this tier in the Netflix for tvOS app, you would receive the message “Your plan does not support streaming on this device.”
After months of delay, Apple confirmed to TechCrunch that the ad-supported subscription plan is now available for use on Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD. You need at least app version 2.3.0 to use Ad-supported Netflix on Apple TV.
This ad layer also works on iOS, iPadOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, some game consoles, and many, many smart TVs.
Why did Netflix ads linger on Apple TV?
You can wait for automatic updates to deliver the updated Netflix app to your Apple TV box, which can take weeks. Or install the update manually. To do this, open the App Store app on your Apple TV and use the search function to go to the Netflix page, then click the Update button to apply the update immediately.
The Basic with Ads tier debuted in November 2022 without Apple TV support. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to the pettiness of Netflix — older Google Chromecasts were also excluded from accessing Netflix with ads.
Instead, software issues prevented ad-supported playback on some devices. At the time of writing, Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra devices, PlayStation 3, and the Netflix app for Windows were still unable to access the ad-supported tier.
What perks does the Netflix Ads plan offer?
Netflix with ads for $7 a month is more affordable than other plans. The ad-supported subscription tier shows five minutes of 15-30 second ads every hour, but some movies and TV shows aren’t available. Also, this plan limits video resolution to 720p and does not allow you to download shows for offline viewing.
In contrast, Netflix Basic ($10/month) includes ad-free 720p movies and shows on a single device, while offline downloads are supported on a single device at a time. Ad-supported Netflix plans are available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK, and the US.