Code in the Netflix app suggests the ad-supported version may have a drawback

If you concept ad-supported Netflix would just be the regular carrier with some commercial breaks, then I regret to inform you you had been wrong. According to language in the code of the Netflix app, discovered by developer Steve Moser and shared with Bloomberg, Netflix may additionally limit offline downloads to the ad-free tiers of Netflix.

Currently, Netflix has three tiers. For $9.99 a month, you get standard definition content material and the ability to watch TV on one screen at a time. Pay $14.99 a month and you get HD and the potential to watch on two screens at a time. If you want to watch the whole lot in UHD (with 4K and HDR), you’ll have to pay $19.99. You’ll also be able to watch on 4 screens at a time.

It’s not sincerely a surprise Netflix would consider gatekeeping offline downloads to humans paying for the ad-free version of the service. Earlier this year co-CEO Ted Sarandos stated that the ad-supported tier wouldn’t include all the same content material as the ad-free one, and ad-supported tiers are intended to be a gateway tier that gives humans a taste at a lower price. And there’s the challenge of serving ads on offline content.

It’s not an not possible challenge, but it’s a tricky one. Besides, Netflix already puts other stuff behind paywalls that ought to be standard. I pay $19.99 a month for Netflix so I can get the most out of my very nice 4K TV with support for a couple of forms of HDR — not due to the fact I need to be able to watch 4 streams at once.

But historically, Netflix hasn’t treated offline downloads as a perk. Back in 2016, when Netflix finally began allowing offline downloads, Sarandos told CNBC it was once to support emerging markets the place Wi-Fi was spotty. At the time, Netflix was already late to offline viewing. Amazon Prime had been permitting you to download stuff you wanted to watch later for years. One would anticipate the people not but subscribing to Netflix cite reasons besides fee — like spotty internet.

In July, Microsoft announced it would be Netflix’s ad tech and income partner — effectively supplying the infrastructure to serve ads on the new tier. The new ad-supported tier for Netflix is expected to launch in 2023. We’ve reached out to Netflix for remark and will update if we hear back.