Netflix Gains 8 Million Global Subscribers Amid Price Hikes and Push to Ad-Supported Streaming

[MacRumors]

Netflix has gained more than 8 million global paid subscribers since April, according to new subscriber information included in the company's second quarter earnings results [PDF]. With the jump in paid subscriptions, Netflix now has a total of 277.65 million paid subscribers around the world, marking 16.5 percent year-over-year growth.

Ad tier memberships increased 34 percent quarter-over-quarter, thanks to Netflix pushing its ad-supported tier. Netflix eliminated its cheapest ad-free "Basic" subscription tier last year, and earlier in July, the company began warning customers in the UK and Canada that they would need to move to a new plan.

In the United States, the Basic plan was priced at $9.99 per month, but the cheapest ad-free Netflix plan is now priced at $15.49 a month. Netflix had been allowing customers that were already on the Basic plan to continue using it, but that is being phased out. Ad tier memberships grew 34 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024.

Netflix with ads is priced at $6.99 per month, and it includes between four and five minutes of ads per hour. Ads vary in length from 15 to 30 seconds and play before and during TV shows and movies. The company says that it will soon test an in-house ad tech platform in Canada, with plans to launch it broadly in 2025.

Netflix saw 17 percent growth in revenue year-over-year, and it is expecting overall 2024 growth to be at 14 to 15 percent. Netflix is expecting ad memberships to increase in 2025 and beyond, with ad revenue becoming a more meaningful contributor to its business.

Article Link: Netflix Gains 8 Million Global Subscribers Amid Price Hikes and Push to Ad-Supported Streaming

 

[blazerunner]

Pay to watch ads or pirate to not see ads.

Ridiculous that the legal way gets you less value.

 

[GizmoDVD]

But that's not fair! My college roommate's brother pays $15 and everyone should be able to use his account forever! How dare they cancel my favorite show! I'm a viewer.

Hahahah

 

[GizmoDVD]

Pay to watch ads or pirate to not see ads.

Ridiculous that the legal way gets you less value.

... or pay for the ad-free version which is an actual option.

 

[zilchfox]

I quit Netflix years ago, and this definitely doesn’t want me to go back, that’s for sure.

 

[blazerunner]

... or pay for the ad-free version which is an actual option.

None of the paid options should have ads. That's part of the point of paying; to avoid ads.

 

[votdfak]

Never me! LOL

 

[cyanite]

Ridiculous that the legal way gets you less value

Pirating stuff without paying gives you more value. Imagine that.

That's part of the point of paying; to avoid ads.

So do that, then.

 

[sw1tcher]

Impressive that over 45 percent of people signing up for a Netflix account are choosing the ad-supported plan in markets where the plan is available.

Per their shareholder letter...

Advertising

Ads fulfill two important strategic priorities for Netflix: first they enable us to offer lower prices to consumers; and second, they create an additional revenue and profit stream for the business. Just over 18 months since launch, we continue to scale our ads tier, which now accounts for over 45% of all signups in our ads markets. Its attractiveness ($6.99 a month in the US, with two streams, high definition and downloads) — coupled with the phasing out of our Basic plan in the UK and Canada, which we will now start in the US and France — has increased our ads member base by 34% sequentially in Q2.

 

[lkrupp]

Pay to watch ads or pirate to not see ads.

Ridiculous that the legal way gets you less value.

There is no “value” in pirating. It makes you a common thief, no different than the guy who breaks into your car and steals your radio. I fail to see where theft can be justified under any circumstances.

 

[lkrupp]

I quit Netflix years ago, and this definitely doesn’t want me to go back, that’s for sure.

That’s okay, they got 8 million new users without you.

 

[Little Endian]

Well I wasn't one of the 8 million to subscribe. Netflix lost me earlier this year, been tired of the price hikes. The content also is not as compelling as other platforms. They made it easy for me to cancel. They stopped accepting payment for grandfathered plans via Apple app store earlier this year. At least with that method I got abut 15% off because I would pay with discounted gift card credits.

 

[armandxp]

Movie and show quality isn’t that great on Netflix anymore. Subscribe one month a year to 4k plan, binge what you want, and move along. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.

 

[GizmoDVD]

None of the paid options should have ads. That's part of the point of paying; to avoid ads.

It's 2024, nearly every service has an ad-feature and they are usually the highest amount of paid subscribers. It's time to move on.

 

[sw1tcher]

None of the paid options should have ads. That's part of the point of paying; to avoid ads.

Or let people decide for themselves what plan (ad-supported or not) to choose from.

When over 45 percent of new sign ups are choosing the ad-supported plan, that means people are ok with the ads. This shows it was a good idea for Netflix to give in and offer an ad-supported plan.

 

[SoldOnApple]

I hate that Netflix doesn't care if their movies and TV shows are good or not, they just care if people stream them. So despite all the content Netflix doesn't actually produce or buy truly good content at a rate any faster than Apple TV+ or Disney+. They do at least buy a lot of foreign content which is nice, mixes things up.

 

[bunty07]

Well, I’m from Central America. Netflix dropped the price, so that’s the reason why I didn’t cancel. Paying just 7.99 for the premium subscription.

 

[GizmoDVD]

I hate that Netflix doesn't care if their movies and TV shows are good or not, they just care if people stream them. So despite all the content Netflix doesn't actually produce or buy truly good content at a rate any faster than Apple TV+ or Disney+. They do at least buy a lot of foreign content which is nice, mixes things up.

Please let me know how many streaming services cares if their movies and TV shows are "good" (according to you, of course). AppleTV+ might be the sol streaming service, Disney has a ton of stinkers

 

[rorschach]

None of the paid options should have ads. That's part of the point of paying; to avoid ads.

I hate ads and will pay to remove them. But, you’re not paying just to remove ads. You’re paying for access to content. Many services offer an ad-free tier, but paying doesn’t inherently mean ad-free.

Cable TV is much more expensive and has had ads for a very long time.

 

[Terrinb]

There is no “value” in pirating. It makes you a common thief, no different than the guy who breaks into your car and steals your radio. I fail to see where theft can be justified under any circumstances.

Is stealing from a thief really morally wrong? Copyright law used to be ten years corporate lobbyists have pushed it up over a hundred.

 

[blazerunner]

When over 45 percent of new sign ups are choosing the ad-supported plan, that means people are ok with the ads. This shows it was a good idea for Netflix to give in and offer an ad-supported plan.

That's like saying people are ok with 8gb of RAM on MacBooks....

...as if they they really had much of a choice without paying through the nose.

 

[mcru21]

weirdly enough, i've never gotten kicked off of my sisters account on my apple tv since they've started the password crackdown

 

[GizmoDVD]

That's like saying people are ok with 8gb of RAM on MacBooks....

...as if they they really had much of a choice without paying through the nose.

So 8GB to 16GB RAM is $200 and that's "through the nose"?

Pletny off people are happy with 8GB of RAM. Probably 95% of them. You know, not everyone who buys a Mac is a Macrumors power user....right?

 

[pdaholic]

They keep taking more, and we keep giving more. Great job, people.

 

[Dark_Omen]

Impressive that over 45 percent of people signing up for a Netflix account are choosing the ad-supported plan in markets where the plan is available.

Per their shareholder letter...

Advertising

Ads fulfill two important strategic priorities for Netflix: first they enable us to offer lower prices to consumers; and second, they create an additional revenue and profit stream for the business. Just over 18 months since launch, we continue to scale our ads tier, which now accounts for over 45% of all signups in our ads markets. Its attractiveness ($6.99 a month in the US, with two streams, high definition and downloads) — coupled with the phasing out of our Basic plan in the UK and Canada, which we will now start in the US and France — has increased our ads member base by 34% sequentially in Q2.

I signed up for Netflix again after years without it. $7 a month for a subscription isn't bad... The ads rarely play, and if they do, it's for a minute or less. Beats paying $20 a month for their other subscription options.