Deteriorating Conditions: How T-Mobile’s Included Netflix Faces Setbacks with Certain Subscribers

Netflix recently added an ad-supported tier for its service in light of the constant complaints about the platform’s prices constantly increasing. While the ad-free tiers would remain the same price, the ad-supported ones allow you to save a few bucks and, in return, you’ll have to put up with the occasional ad. It’s a good idea, but some promotional offers with Netflix now use the ad-supported tier, including T-Mobile’s included Netflix subscription.

The Netflix “On Us” benefit offered by T-Mobile is undergoing significant changes. Up until this point, T-Mobile users could enjoy a complimentary subscription to Netflix, as the carrier was willing to foot the bill for up to Netflix’s Standard plan (with up to 1080p support, two concurrent streams, downloads, and, of course, no ads). This even stuck as Netflix increased its prices two months ago . However, T-Mobile is now replacing that with an ad-supported subscription.

Which customers will be affected by this, you might ask? As per an initial look at internal documents by The Mobile Report, it first looked like only customers with the “Basic” Netflix plan would be affected, moving to “Standard with Ads” due to Netflix discontinuing the Basic plan. However, corrected information indicates that every T-Mobile customer receiving Netflix “On Us” might now be shifted to the new “Netflix Standard with Ads” plan, irrespective of their existing subscription.

The root cause of these changes seems to be a reduction in the amount T-Mobile is willing to pay for Netflix subscriptions. The company, which initially paid up to $15.49 for Standard Netflix “On Us,” will now pay a fixed amount of $6.99 per account, regardless of the T-Mobile plan. The motives behind this shift remain unclear, with speculation that Netflix’s rising prices and dwindling content quality may have influenced T-Mobile’s decision.

The way T-Mobile is communicating this change to users is also making things worse than they already are. Official announcements via text messages present the changes as a free upgrade, misleadingly framing the transition from ad-free to ad-supported content as a positive development.

If you’re a T-Mobile customer and you’re currently enjoying a free Netflix subscription, just know that you might soon have to put up with ads—or pony up for a better tier. We reached out to T-Mobile for more information, and we will update this article when (or if) the company responds.

Source: The Mobile Report

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