Netflix accelerates its advertising plans

It’s only been a few weeks since it was announced that streaming giant Netflix was considering introducing advertising on the platform, similar to what we know from linear TV, where you get an interruption in the middle of a series or movie.

Now the New York Times writes that Netflix appears to be accelerating those plans. The company is working to offer a partially ad-supported subscription in a year or two, and will now launch that in the last three months of the year.

By airing ads while streaming, Netflix will likely introduce a more affordable subscription. The ad reach is likely a direct response to the user decline the streaming service has seen in recent months. When Netflix released its latest quarterly figures, it was revealed that the company had lost a total of 200,000 subscribers, slipping into the red for the first time since the service’s launch.

This includes the fact that the company lost 700,000 Russian users due to the sanctions, 600,000 Canadian and American users also turned their backs on the company during this period.

In recent years, Netflix has gradually become more expensive, especially for those who want to stream in Full HD or in 4K resolution. This happened at the same time that many other providers entered the streaming market, resulting in a more fragmented offering and more competition for users’ time and wallets than was the case when the service was launched. Today, Netflix is by far the most expensive streaming service on the market.

Netflix has already stated that it will consider increasing the cost if you share your account outside of your household, and has begun testing a payment solution where you can add additional users who do not live with you in certain areas.

So that means they are also working on solutions to find out who shares an account with friends or family members outside the household. A step that is still possible, but not allowed according to the terms.