What was previously unthinkable is now happening: Netflix is rolling out a cheaper streaming plan that includes ads.
Many of the details are yet to be fleshed out, but Netflix seems intent on accelerating its ad-supported plan in a matter of months.
So how much will Netflix cost with ads and when will it arrive? This is what we know.
Netflix lost subscribers during the first and second quarters of 2022, ending a decade of growth and sending Netflix’s stock price into a tailspin. And while Netflix is ubiquitous in North America, it is having trouble gaining ground in the rest of the world, where it faces stiff competition from cheaper streaming services.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s fast-growing competitors, including HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock and Hulu, have, or are preparing to launch, their own cheaper ad-supported plans, all of which currently undercut the cheaper ad-free plans. cheap Netflix.
So while it wasn’t that long ago that Netflix executives scoffed at the idea of cheaper ad-supported plans, the company abruptly changed course once it became clear that its seemingly unstoppable growth had stalled.
No, not everything. Netflix licenses many of its movies and TV shows to third parties, and those deals will likely need to be renegotiated before Netflix can insert ads into those videos for streaming.
According to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, “the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix” would be available “today” in an ad-supported offering, but “not all of it.” That said, Netflix is in talks with its providers to “delete additional content.”
By the way, Netflix original shows like Stranger Things, Ozark, and The Witcher would almost certainly be available for ad-supported streaming from day one.
How many commercial breaks will Netflix with ads have?
It’s not yet clear how many ads Netflix subscribers on the “with ads” plan will have to go through. In fact, the ad-supported version of Netflix is still in its “early days,” and Netflix only announced its tech partner in the effort, Microsoft, in July.
That said, it’s a safe bet that Netflix won’t download more ads per hour than its competitors. For example, the “ad-supported” version of HBO Max averages four minutes per hour, while Peacock tops out at five minutes per hour. This may interest you : Season finale of “Stranger Things” Watch Party set by Scener and Netflix, with David Harbor and other cast members joining the live Q&A videos. So look for something in the ballpark for four to five minutes an hour.
Will Netflix with ads offer 4K HDR video resolution?
Probably not, but we’ll see. Currently, only Netflix’s most expensive plan, Premium, offers 4K UHD streaming. On the same subject : Movies Coming to Netflix in August 2022. Netflix’s standard plan includes 1080p streaming, while the basic plan only offers 720p streaming.
Most other streamers only deliver 4K HDR streams to their ad-free subscribers, though that’s not a universal policy; Paramount+, for example, allows ad-supported subscribers to stream in 4K.
One of the best perks big streamers offer is the ability to download their videos for offline viewing, perfect for watching your favorite shows on a long flight or when you don’t want to break your data limit.
That said, most ad-supported streaming offerings don’t allow video downloads, and that includes Paramount+, which is otherwise pretty liberal with its ad-supported features. We’re pretty sure Netflix with ads won’t offer downloads either, but Netflix has yet to confirm that detail.
Where will Netflix with ads launch first?
Netflix hasn’t detailed which specific regions will be the first to get the streamer’s ad-supported tier. Read also : Prime Video selects Netflix Alum Casey Benesch as head of comic marketing. The company has said it will “probably start in a handful of markets where ad spend is significant” and then “listen and learn.”
It would be surprising if the US wasn’t among the first countries to get Netflix’s ad-supported plan, but again, we don’t know for sure yet.
The latest word is that Netflix is looking to launch its “ad-supported” offering in “early 2023.”
Earlier this year, there was talk of Netflix wanting to roll out its ad-supported tier by the end of 2022, but recent statements from the company have contradicted those rumours.
How much will Netflix with ads cost?
Well, that’s the big question, and the short answer is that we don’t know yet.
What we do know is that Basic, Netflix’s least expensive ad-free plan, costs $9.99 a month (in the US, anyway), so we’re guessing the ad-supported tier will be cheaper. But for how much?
For some context, Paramount+ and Peacock Premium (which, confusingly, is ad-supported, compared to ad-free Peacock Premium Plus) each cost $4.99 per month, while ad-supported Hulu costs $6 per month. HBO Max with ads costs $10 a month, which makes it something of an outlier.
