Netflix may have won the streaming wars, but it has become a great deal worse than what it was when it first launched in Australia.
This is entirely its own fault.
This week I and other users grandfathered into Netflix's Basic plan and received an email with the subject line "Changes and savings for Basic members".
Just the latest hostile decision made by the streaming giant whose yearning for growth has seen change after change each year in search of a better bottom line.
The email informed me that the Basic plan (which had been phased out for new users 18 months ago) was to be officially discontinued and I'd be moved to Netflix's cheapest plan "Standard with Ads".
The email stressed the benefits:
- Lower price: save 35% each month
- Better video quality: stream in Full HD (1080p)
- More devices: watch and download titles on two household devices at the same time
- A few short ads: designed to not interrupt you during a scene – and no ads on Kids profiles
While Netflix was very keen to sell me the idea my material experience is worse. Move to a plan with ads or a pay more.
Based on the reactions of Aussie Redditors, I was not the only one frustrated by the news. Countless users discussed how they'd made the move to cancel all their subscriptions and started pirating content as they couldn't keep up with costs. Others suggested users were better off supporting free locally made content on free-to-air platforms like ABC's iView and SBS OnDemand.
The reason I was happy to stay on the Basic plan in the first place is because the move to the Standard plan at ($18.99 per month) represented a just over 45% price increase.
At 130% the price of Standard with Ads there's really nothing more in the Standard plan worth paying more for other than no ads themselves.
The resolution is the same, the simultaneous streams are the same and you can download content offline on up to two devices on each.
| Standard with Ads | Standard | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $7.99 | $18.99 | $25.99 |
| Resolution | 1080p | 1080p | Up to 4K |
| Simultaneous streams | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Offline download devices | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Optional extra accounts | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Standard does have one perk Standard with Ads doesn't. You have the privilege of adding one extra member to your plan – for the fine price of $5.99 (with ads) or $7.99 (without ads).
Netflix even wants you to pay more for an extra member account without ads when you're already playing well over double the price of its cheapest plan. These "extra members" are of course Netflix's way of monetising its password-sharing crackdowns.
The polite term for all of this behaviour is called "platform decay" – like shrinkflation, it's all about earning more from less.
Netlifx is certainly benefitting from the changes, according to Statista the US-giant generated total revenue of over USD$10.2 billion in the last quarter of 2024, up from USD$8.8 billion in the same quarter of 2023.
But while Netflix's profits have gone up quarter after quarter the product has slowly gotten worse.
Netflix got to the top by being a disruptor, creating hit shows, and an attractive alternative to mainstream TV package platforms like Foxtel.
The 2010s were full of disruptive brands entering the market, the share-economy was in full swing with Uber and Uber Eats, Airbnb, and even homegrown Airtasker all launching in Australia that decade.
When Netflix arrived on our shores in March 2015 plans started at $9.99 per month, there weren't ads, you could share your password as much as you like, and it came with a slate of hit series like Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and eventually Stranger Things.
The streamer was a fraction of the cost of Foxtel, and its arrival quickly spurred local businesses to innovate (for good and bad) with local services like Stan and Binge emerging.
Once firmly it cemented itself as the leader of the pack in the last few years it made the move to prioritise maximising profits for shareholders.
Netflix officially reached household name status, and the phrase "Netflix and chill" entered the vernacular. Everyone was using it, which meant it was time to start squeezing everyone for every dollar it could.
With its ad-supported plan, Netflix is able to double dip on earnings. It collects subscription fees from users and a fee from its advertisers.
Netflix regularly puts plan prices up too, when the ad-supported plan launched in October 2022 it was $6.99 per month, Standard cost $16.99 and Premium was $22.99. Premium customers have often faced the steepest hikes, with the plan typically going up by $3 at a time.
Yet in all this time the number of real hits keeping me subscribed has dwindled. There have been outliers, Squid Game season one was phenomenal, Baby Reindeer is a certifiable Emmy Awarded hit.
However, each year there are fewer and fewer shows that generate watercooler conversation, there's not a lot on Netflix anymore that competes with the likes of HBO when it comes to generating buzz. Netflix doesn't have a White Lotus or a Severance right now.
Last year's Kaos, a Netflix Original helmed by Jeff Goldblum had a unique take on re-telling Greek myths. It was getting buzz and positive reviews, but the show never had a chance to find its feet before it (like its characters) was shipped off by Netflix to the underworld.
Netflix has become the place I go when everything good has run out, for low-brow content like Emily in Paris which has its own place in my heart but doesn't do anything outstanding.
There is talk in industry circles of Netflix execs interfering with the creative process by requesting shows be more "two-screen" friendly. That is, asking that plots be reworked or altered to be simpler and more friendly as a background watch than something meant to engage viewers or encourage critical thinking.
If this is true then perhaps, Netflix will become like the TV-like parlour walls from Ray Bradbury's classic dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, which produce endless amounts of brain-rot content to keep the masses from questioning their reality.
That's not to say there aren't shows out there exploring big ideas, you just might have to go to other streaming platforms to find enough of them.
Services like Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus and Prime Video all host a wide range of blockbuster hits to truly original stories for well under the price of a Netflix Standard plan.
Apple alone has released certifiable banger after banger like Severance, Slow Horses, Mythic Quest, Disclaimer and I've yet to feel the quality dip. It has taken big swings on shows like Foundation and commits to seeing stories through to the end, such as with Silo being renewed through to its fourth and final season.
Whether it's cancelling hit shows with devoted fanbases (Mindhunter, Sense8, The OA, GLOW to name a few), or leading the pack on the password crackdowns, Netflix sets the standards for other streamers.
Prime Video started displaying ads soon after Netflix. Disney is doing so too – although its ad-supported options haven't launched in Australia. Disney is even following Netflix's example in offering an extra member option for users outside of your household.
With so many platforms, conditions and restrictions, we've circled back to cable TV, this time without the cables.
Anecdotally, many people these days are "cycling" their monthly subscriptions. Making their way through whatever binge-worthy content they can, hitting cancel and then signing up for another one or two platforms the next month.
I was happy with my Netflix Basic plan just sort of ticking along in the background. It was there when something I actually wanted to watch on another platform was over. It might be time to start churning and burning subscriptions myself.
Netflix - like Airbnb, Uber, and the rest of the share economy from the 2010s - just isn't what it used to be anymore.
These services which once promised to strike a bold new path separate from embedded institutions are all in various stages of platform decay with increased fees that make the alternatives look even better.
It remains to see how long consumers will suck it up. I, for one am, ready to drop Netflix.
These are the most popular NBN 50 plans with WhistleOut users this week:
|
#1
|
Exetel
Extra-value nbn50
$60.99/mth
Min. cost $60.99
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
Value Plus NBN
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#3
|
Buddy Telco
Editor's Pick
Value nbn - Unlimited
$63/mth
Min. cost $63
|
|
#4
|
TPG
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
|
|
#5
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Kogan Internet
Silver Unlimited
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
nbn50 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
|
|
#7
|
Dodo
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$68.90/mth
Min. cost $68.90
|
|
#8
|
Superloop
Extra-value nbn50/20
$67/mth
Min. cost $67
|
|
#9
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Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Essential
$105/mth
Min. cost $105
Link not supplied
|
|
#10
|
iPrimus
Standard Plus nbn50 Plan
$84/mth
Min. cost $84
|
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