Netflix could launch its ad-supported subscription tier available well before the end of the year, despite the company previously touting an early 2023 launch.
A report from the Wall Street Journal on Friday says Netflix top brass has informed the companies who’ve bought the ads that the planned go-date is November 1.
If that proves to be the case, Netflix would have ads before Disney introduces similar plans before the year is out, giving Netflix the chance to get a leap on that market. Disney isn’t even lowering the price, it is simply replacing the current plan with the ad-funded tier and putting the pricing-up elsewhere. Let’s hope Netflix doesn’t follow suit.
The company is yet to announce just how much it plans to knock off the monthly price of a membership, but some may expect a significant discount, from the Standard plan price of £10.99 a month, in order to put up with the incursion of ads.
According to a recent report, the ads might not be as intrusive as initially feared. The sources say Netflix isn’t going to place ads within its original movies, or kids content, which could be an important distinction for viewers opting for a more affordable option.
The reported acceleration of the plans to launch the ad-funded tier could be designed to stop the bleeding at the streaming giant, given the current subscriber losses compared with the post-pandemic peak. During the last financial quarter, almost a million people quit Netflix.
As a result, Netflix is also considering ways to clamp down on password sharing, which is also potentially eating away at subscriber numbers. In some countries, Netflix is giving registered users the opportunity to add additional households to their account for two or three bucks a month, but it is yet to roll out those trials in Europe or the US.
How much would you want to save on an ad-funded Netflix tier? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
You might like…
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
