The streaming giant Netflix recently announced that they are looking at a few different ways to give consumers more choice on their platform. This announcement came directly from Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings, following the release of the company’s quarterly earnings.
Hastings revealed that they are looking to add cheaper plans to the platform that are supported by ads. He also revealed that the company is still evaluating what these plans would look like over the next couple of years. However, the company is excited about the possibilities.
Those that know the platform also know that Netflix has been against advertising and for subscriptions. This tactic worked very well for them for a long time. However, with the increase in competition from other streaming platforms, Netflix is now looking into how they can give their customers more options and choices.
Netflix isn’t the only platform considering this. Hulu is already offering this, and it’s working for them. Disney+ is doing it, and even HBO offered ad-supported plans to their consumers in the past. Hastings mentioned that currently, the plan is to introduce a planning layer similar to Hulu’s.
Hastings also announced that when Netflix introduces an ad-supported tier to their plans, this will be as a publisher only, and there will be no data-tracking or ad-matching. This is something that many competitors are embracing when it comes to ad-supported content, but can also be viewed as an invasion of privacy, so we’re glad that Netflix has decided against that.
While this might seem like an odd move for the platform that was so against ads when compared to the current loss in revenue and decline in subscriptions, the company has to do something to get new subscribers – and this may just be it. The ad-free plans will still be available for those that don’t want to sit through ads, with new cheaper plans available for those that don’t mind the occasional ad. We look forward to seeing how this works out for the streaming giant. We also can’t wait to see how the new Netflix game Exploding Kittens will perform.