Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Netflix’s more affordable Basic with Ads plan goes live today in several countries, but there’s one popular streaming platform where you won’t be able to access it on day one: it’s not supported on the Apple TV. Thankfully, this is only temporary and should be resolved in the near future.
As noted by 9to5Mac, Netflix has a support page up that directly confirms as much. It simply says, “Basic with Ads isn’t supported on Apple TV,” without any details as to why that’s the case. Plenty of other AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) services are present on tvOS, and since Basic with Ads works on iPhones and iPads, this doesn’t seem to be the result of a wider spat between Apple and Netflix. A Netflix spokesperson confirmed to 9to5Mac that Apple TV support is coming soon.
Based on Netflix’s page, you’ll be able to use the new ad tier on Amazon Fire TV devices, Android, Chromecast with Google TV, iOS, numerous game consoles, and smart TVs. Roku isn’t directly mentioned in the support document, nor are any Xbox consoles, but that could merely be an oversight. Chromecasts prior to the Google TV model are not supported, nor is the PlayStation 3. Fun fact: 10 years ago, that Sony console was the most popular device for Netflix streaming.
The Apple TV omission makes for unfortunate timing, as Apple’s third-generation Apple TV 4K goes on sale in stores tomorrow. But even if you’ve got an older model on your entertainment stand, it sounds as though you’ll only be able to stream Netflix if you’re on one of the company’s older, more expensive plans until a future update adds support.