Netflix's ad-supported plan comes to Apple TV after months of delay

When Netflix launched its ad-supported plan four months ago, there were a few devices the plan didn’t support — Apple TV being one of them. Starting this week, the cheaper tier is available in the Netflix tvOS app.

A Reddit user that goes by websgeisti noticed the update yesterday. The user noted that Netflix’s Basic with Ads plan is available on the latest version (2.3.0) of the Netflix app on Apple TV.

Netflix confirmed to TechCrunch that support on tvOS is now available for the ad-supported tier.

Previously, Apple TV users were unable to access the ads tier and were instead asked to either upgrade to Netflix’s pricier plans or try on a different device.

When TechCrunch reached out to Netflix back in November, the company told us that while the Basic with Ads plan isn’t available on tvOS at launch, it would be coming soon.

The tier has yet to become available on Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, PlayStation 3 and the Netflix app for Windows.

Despite the delay in adding the supported devices, among other setbacks like fewer titles, Netflix previously shared how happy it was about the success of its new tier. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Netflix President of Worldwide Advertising Jeremi Gorman said there is a “broad swath” of advertisers on the platform.

However, a month after it launched, analytics firm Antenna reported that only 9% of new Netflix subscribers in the United States signed up for the cheaper plan.

Netflix rolled out its $6.99/month ad-supported plan in November 2022 to subscribers in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. Ads are 15 to 30 seconds long, and there’s an average of four to five minutes of ads per hour. The Basic with Ads plan has a lower video quality of 720p HD and subscribers can only stream from one device at the same time. Around 5% to 10% of Netflix’s content catalog is unavailable due to licensing restrictions. Plus, subscribers don’t have access to offline viewing with the ad-supported plan.