Netflix’s upcoming ad-supported tier will launch sooner than expected, reports show.
According to inside sources, Netflix will roll out the new tier on November 1 in multiple countries, including the UK, US, Canada, France and Germany.
While it remains unclear how much the new ad-supported version will cost, it will be cheaper than the cheapest ad-free tier (Basic), which costs £6.99 per month in the UK and $9.99 in the US.
Netflix originally announced it would start advertising in 2023, but that date was reportedly brought forward due to dwindling subscriber numbers.
It also wants to introduce ads before streaming rival Disney+ releases its own ad-supported tier in the US on December 8.
Netflix previously announced it would launch an ad-supported tier in 2023, but that date was reportedly brought forward due to dwindling subscriber numbers
Netflix is already known to have partnered with Microsoft on its first tier of subscriptions with advertising, but until now the release date has been unclear.
The Wall Street Journal and Variety both reported on the release date news, with the latter crediting “industry sources who have been briefed on the streamer’s plans.”
Netflix is also reportedly charging brands “premium prices” to advertise on its platform, and is leveraging strong interest from advertisers to bring its products to Netflix’s broad audience.
Netflix charges advertisers around US$65 (£56) to reach 1,000 viewers, which is significantly higher than most other streaming platforms.
Netflix declined to comment on the reports to MailOnline.
Since its inception 15 years ago, Netflix has refused to include commercials in its offerings, but that has changed as of this year.
In April, Netflix announced it was ending its opposition to advertising after it revealed it had lost 200,000 subscribers worldwide in the first three months of the year.
At the time, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced in an earnings call that the platform would be rolling out ads in the “next year or two.”
Then, in May, Netflix told its employees it would be rolling out ads earlier than expected — by the end of the year, the New York Times revealed.
“Yes, it’s fast and ambitious and requires some compromises,” Netflix said in a note to employees, seen by the New York Times.
Netflix added 8.3 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2021. But for the two consecutive quarters, it lost subscribers, not gained them
Netflix’s streaming rival Disney+ is also launching an ad-supported subscription tier for US customers on December 8, 2022
“Every major streaming company except Apple has or has announced an ad-supported service. People want cheaper options for good reason.”
In July, Netflix announced that it lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the second quarter of the year — almost five times the number in the first quarter.
In a letter to shareholders at the time, Netflix announced it would launch a new tier of subscriptions with advertising in early 2023, starting with “those few markets where ad spend is significant.”
And that’s despite it reportedly telling its staff that the ads would arrive by the end of 2022.
Los Gatos, California streaming company hasn’t revealed how much the new ad-supported version will cost, although it will be cheaper than the cheapest ad-free tier (Basic), which costs £6.99 per month.
But it won’t be free, meaning customers will have to endure ads on top of a monthly subscription price.
Additionally, the new ad tier won’t have access to Netflix’s entire content library, co-CEO Ted Sarandos announced in July.
“Today, we can include the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix on the ad-supported tier,” Sarandos said at the time.
“There are some things that don’t — which we’re in discussions with studios about — but if we launched the product today, members at the ad tier would have a great experience.
“We will be releasing some additional content, but certainly not all, but we don’t think it will be a significant barrier to business.”
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos (pictured) announced in July that the new ad tier will not have access to Netflix’s entire content library
Content produced by the BBC could be excluded from the tier as the royalty does not allow the BBC to have advertising to support its programmes.
Last month, code noticed by Steve Moser in Netflix’s iPhone app indicated that the ad layer will also block the ability to download content.
“Downloads available on all plans except Netflix with ads,” reads the text on the app, which Moser shared with Bloomberg.
The code also suggests that users cannot skip ads and playback controls are unavailable during commercial breaks, Moser added.
If the November 1st start date is correct, more ad tier details are likely to be officially announced in the next few weeks, e.g. B. the prices and when exactly the ads are played during the user experience.
Ads may only appear when the content begins and ends, or they could play at various intervals throughout the duration of the movie or TV show.
Netflix users who subscribe to the Basic, Standard, or Premium tiers won’t see any ads, although it’s likely these tiers will see further price increases in the near future.
Netflix’s streaming rival Disney+ is also releasing its own ad-supported subscription tier for US viewers on December 8, and viewers in other markets next year.
In the US, Disney+ is currently $7.99 a month, but that will be the price of the new ad-supported tier when it arrives.
Meanwhile, the existing Disney+ tier with no ads will increase by $3 per month from $7.99 to a whopping $10.99.
With Disney+ costing £7.99 a month in the UK, it’s expected that the UK price will also rise by £3 a month when the new ad tier arrives.
Disney+ has a variety of extremely popular and extensive content libraries including Star Wars, Marvel and Disney films as well as The Simpsons and some exclusive series including the eight hour Beatles documentary.
