Netflix to launch new cheaper subscription with ads

It has now been officially confirmed that Netflix will soon be introducing adverts on a new lower subscription package.

Netflix had long been averse to advertising on its subscription service but after posting disappointing figures last quarter, showing it lost 200,000 subscribers, the company said would be introducing a less-expensive ad-supported tier to its service in a bid to bring in new customers.

Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive confirmed the new strategy in an interview at the Cannes Lions Festival. He said: “We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising’.

“We’ve left a big customer segment off the table, which is people who say: ‘Hey, Netflix is too expensive for me and I don’t mind advertising,’” Sarandos said Thursday, speaking on the Cannes Lions stage with Sway podcast host Kara Swisher. “We adding an ad tier; we’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say, ‘Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads.'”

“We won’t make everyone happy, but that’s the beauty of on-demand: you can turn it off. The reason comedy is hard is we don’t all laugh at the same thing. We all cry at the same thing so drama is a little easier to pull off, but when it comes to comedy, it’s all very different,” he said. “Part of the art form is to cross the line, and part of the art form means you only find where the line is by crossing it sometimes. Supporting expression is really important.”