Netflix With Ads Could Be as Low as $7 a Month
Netflix confirmed this year that a cheaper, ad-supported tier will be launched later this year, and though it will come without a few specific features, the price may very well entice some viewers. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Netflix is considering pricing this version of the subscription between $7 and $9 a month, potentially less than half the price of the streamer's current most popular plan, the $15.49-a-month "Standard" plan. Netflix's "Basic" plan, its cheapest, currently costs $9.99 per month for subscribers but comes without HD streaming. The company recently confirmed that in order to execute its plan for incorporating ads into some programming they've hired Microsoft to facilitate the changes.
Bloomberg goes on to offer details about what Netflix may be thinking in terms of volume for its ads in this new tier. According to the outlet the streamer is hoping to start small and may only push four minutes of ads per hour for those that see them. Netflix is also eager to make sure viewers don't see the same ads over and over again, kind of like Hulu subscribers. The outlet also notes that by 2027, subscribers to the tier and the ad sales associated with them could generate as much as "$8.5 billion a year globally" for the service.
Netflix previously confirmed that they'll be rolling out the subscription that includes ads later in 2022, which will be around the time that Disney+ does the same thing. In stark contrast to what Bloomberg's report indicates Netflix will be doing, Disney's addition of an ad-supported tier will actually result in prices being raised for users that don't want to see ads. There's always the potential for Netflix to raise prices for non-ad subscribers as well but there's been no indication that will occur just yet.
One last interesting piece of news from Bloomberg's report reveals what programming Netflix will and won't put ads on, also noting they'll only show ads before and during programming, not after. According to the outlet, Netflix won't show any ads on its original movies, nor on children's programming, but will also be forced to renegotiate with rival studios to put ads on their content. It seems like that they would happily oblige Netflix's wishes for older programming.
"Those who have followed Netflix know that I have been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription," co-CEO Reed Hastings previously revealed. "But as much as I am a fan of that, I am a bigger fan of consumer choice. And allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price, and are advertising-tolerant get what they want, makes a lot of sense. It is pretty clear that it is working for Hulu. Disney is doing it, HBO did it. We don't have any doubt that it works,"