Netflix’s ad-supported tier debuts at $6.99/month
After a lengthy wait, streaming behemoth Netflix will finally launch its ad-supported tier, and it will not burn a large hole in your wallet.
The new Basic with Ads tier will be available next month for users in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom for just $6.99 (149) per month.
When it launches on November 3, it will coexist with Netflix’s current tiers: Basic (which costs $9.99 per month), Standard (which costs $15.49 per month), and Premium (which costs $19.99 per month). Spain will receive the next tier on November 10th.
The Basic with Ads tier is similar to the Basic (no adverts) tier in that it allows users to watch a variety of films and TV series as well as play games in exchange for having to endure an average of four to five minutes of ads every hour.
Each advertising will last between 15 and 30 seconds and will be shown before and during programs. Netflix will also provide wide targeting options by country and genre, allowing marketers to block advertisements from appearing on content that they feel inappropriate or incongruous with their brand.
Netflix’s ad space will not be auctioned off at first; instead, it will be offered at a predetermined price, and the firm boasts that “hundreds of advertisers globally” have already purchased the majority of its initial inventory.
Furthermore, consumers will be able to watch the titles on a variety of TV and mobile devices (one at a time). However, there are some differences:
consumers will not be able to access Netflix’s whole repertoire; the streaming giant stated that due to licensing constraints, some films and TV episodes would not be available to the Basic with Ads tier, and it is presently working on the issue. Users will also be unable to download any titles, and video quality will be limited to 720p / HD (for now).
“In short, Basic with Ads is everything people love about Netflix, at a lower price, with a few ads in between,” Netflix wrote in a blog post, adding that the new tier represented “an exciting opportunity for advertisers — the opportunity to reach a diverse audience, including younger viewers who increasingly don’t watch linear TV, in a premium environment with a seamless, high-resolution ads experience.”
During a press conference, the streaming giant dubbed the new tier as “pro-consumer,” noting how its internal content tagging teams were charged with finding natural breakpoints in various shows and films to place adverts in. In the United States,
Netflix is also collaborating with Nielsen to provide advertisers with rating data and to help them understand how Netflix might reach their target demographic. They will be released in the coming year by Nielsen One.
It remains to be seen whether the new ad-supported tier will be the X-factor that Netflix lacked in the first two quarters of the year.
It lost 200K customers in the first quarter of the year, then another 970K in the second. The fact that it is less expensive than some competing streaming services’ ad-supported tiers – Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max – may also work in its favor.
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