Netflix has quietly removed the option for new and returning users in Canada to pay $9.99 a month in local dollars for a basic no-commercial tier that delivers HD resolution to one screen in the home.
That leaves new and returning Netflix users in the Great White North with three options: They can choose the new basic tier with ads, priced at $5.99 a month in Canadian coin, or pay $16.49 for the "Standard" tier with two simultaneous feeds, or $20.99 (again, CAD) for the Fully Monty, with four simultaneous screens and access to 4K screen resolutions.
Netflix apparently sprung the change nice and quiet-like last week, but the streaming company confirmed it after a number of local news outlets started reporting on it.
“The Basic plan is no longer available for new or rejoining members," Netflix now says on its revised "plans and pricing" page in Canada. "If you are currently on the Basic plan, you can remain on this plan until you change plans or cancel your account."
As this Gizmodo headline reveals, we're not the only outlet predicting that this is a test of a policy that will soon migrate south.
Netflix said during its upfront presentation in May that its ad-supported basic tier had garnered 5 million sign-ups since launching last November, and the company might be interested in expanding that ecosystem.
Netflix executives have referred to Canada as a "reliable predictor" of the bigger U.S. market. And it's notable that Netflix kicked off its much discussed password-sharing crackdown in Canada before its (seemingly) successful deployment in the U.S. in May.
