Netflix will no longer offer its cheapest ad-free plan to new US subscribers.

The $9.99-per-month ad-free plan is “no longer available for new or rejoining members,” according to Netflix’s website, but current customers can stay on the plan as long as they don’t cancel or change plans.

The cheapest ad-free tier for new members is now $15.49 per month as a result of the change.

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After phasing out the basic ads-free plan for new and rejoining members in Canada, “we’re now doing the same in the US and the UK,” the report reads. “We believe our entry prices in these countries – $6.99 in the US, £4.99 in the UK and $5.99 in Canada – provide great value to consumers given the breadth and quality of our catalog.”

What was included in Netflix’s US$9.99 basic tier?

Customers could watch content without ads on one device at a time with the $9.99 basic tier.

Its demise comes shortly after Netflix launched its $6.99 ad-supported tier in November, which features an average of up to four to five minutes of ads per hour.

According to a May press release, the new pricing plan attracted nearly five million global monthly active users in just six months, with more than a quarter of new signups opting for the ad-supporter plan in countries where it is available.

While Chief Financial Officer Spence Neumann said the ad-supported plan continues to bring in a higher average revenue per membership than Netflix’s standard plan, a company statement said its current ad revenue “isn’t material” because the membership base is still small.

“Building an ads business from scratch isn’t easy and we have lots of hard work ahead, but we’re confident that over time we can develop advertising into a multi-billion dollar incremental revenue stream,” the statement reads.

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