Netflix is ending the free mobile-only streaming plan it has offered in Kenya for 2 years now.
Subscribers to the plan have received notifications that, from next month, their free subscriptions will no longer exist.
“Hi Netflix member, we’re writing to let you know about an upcoming change to your membership. On November 1st, 2023, the Free plan will no longer be available and your membership will end,” part of the message to existing users of the free plan reads.
Users of the free Netflix plan, which was available exclusively on Android smartphones, did not need to provide any payment information to Netflix and, as a result, the coming to an end of the streaming giant’s experimentation (which is what that really was) won’t result in users parting with money unless they choose to sign up for other existing Netflix plans.
With the free plan, Netflix offered users a portion of its expansive content catalogue which includes tens of fresh content every month.
The plan, it appeared, was to give Kenyans a taste of Netflix and be enticing enough to woo them to become paying subscribers.
“If you’ve never watched Netflix before — and many people in Kenya haven’t — this is a great way to experience our service. And if you like what you see, it’s easy to upgrade to one of our paid plans so you can enjoy our full catalog on your TV or laptop as well,” Netflix said at the time.
In recent days, Netflix has experimented with ads by trialing an ad-supported tier that works pretty much the same way traditional TV works: ads in between whatever one is watching.
In order to shore up its subscriber numbers, Netflix has also cracked down on password-sharing, requiring users to register devices within their homes in an effort to have those with passwords but staying elsewhere to cough up the at least Kshs 300 it costs to get started on a half-decent Netflix plan in the country after it revised prices earlier in the year. A more basic mobile-only plan, which looks like a more natural home for those who were on the free plan, also exists at just Kshs 100 less.
