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Netflix Partnering With Microsoft for Ad-Supported Streaming Tier
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"We are raising the cost of premium!"
*pause*
"Oh and by the way, here's our most basic offering with ads and low resolution [same cost as the original Netflix premium!"
*pause*
"Oh and by the way, here's our most basic offering with ads and low resolution [same cost as the original Netflix premium!"
I said "similar to." I'd also say that 480p has been more widely and recently used than the iPhone 3G but my point was that someone looking for a newer or better technology phone like the 13 Pro shouldn't be bothered that Apple offers the iPhone SE anymore than someone looking for 1080p or better streaming should be bothered that Netflix offers a 480p plan. A purchase decision should be based on a company's offering at the minimum level the customer is willing to accept and not somehow tainted by lower level products that a company may also offer; unless perhaps it's a luxury/prestige/image brand but that wouldn't apply to Netflix.
People can view the 1080p plan as the standard plan (Netflix even calls it that) and the basic plan is offered at a $5.50/month discount for those willing to go with 480p to save money. No one is forced to go with 480p but the option is there. Same is true for the upcoming ad-supported plan. No one is forced to go with that plan but the option is there if they want to save a few bucks. I think more choices are better than fewer choices and it's up to consumers to decide if their particular (minimum) choice is worth a company's asking price.
I am so glad that I get to drop them, recently got married and Netflix is the only service that we both had a subscription to, so one of our subscriptions is bye bye. If it wasn't for Seinfeld, I'd probably ditch them altogether, only watch their other content a couple of times a month.
Has nothing to do with intelligence, it is budgeting. Some people can't afford $10 a month and stay within their budget, but can afford $5 and are willing to put up with the ads. The alternative would be they don't have the service at all.
Well Netflix has got to do something because many people are having to cut back on luxuries and non-essentials due to the cost of living crisis that is affecting people in many countries around the world. Netflix have to pay for network infastructure, network bandwith, employee wages, building rents, utility bills, licences to the various owners of the shows they stream. The majority of this comes from customer subscriptions so if customers are cancelling their subsciptions because of the cost of living crisis it would mean Netflix would be making a huge loss every month. They need to keep subscriptions and customers might be tempted to pay for a cheaper subscription subsidised by ad's rather than cancel their subscription altogether.
I have no doubt satalite broadcasters have also seen a huge increase in subscription cancellations but they already have ad's in their service anyway.
“Will” - auxiliary verb - used to express futurity
As in speaking of future actions. Not the past.
Also, no one likes pedantry
It's less about being bothered by said option, and more about having a conversation about just why Netflix is doing this, and what it means about the company.
I really would like to go beyond the "you don't have to subscribe to the ad tier if you don't like it" argument, which I feel is a very superficial way of looking at things. After years of not offering ads, why now?
At the heart of the issue is consumers baulking at higher paid video streaming subscription prices. In addition, it’s incredibly easy for subscribers to switch between services from month to month. These companies don’t have the pricing power that they hoped they had. The major difference for Netflix is that they already have the users. An ad-supported tier wouldn’t be about just getting new users, but also keeping existing subscribers who are getting tired and bored of Netflix’s content strategy.
All of the issues that Netflix finds itself facing were avoidable. The red flags and warning signs surrounding the company’s business model were visible for years. Hastings and Sarandos either ignored them or were unable to see them. Instead of admitting that the paid video content landscape had changed, both dug in and continued to use old playbook thinking that had the Netflix model of piling cash into scripted content, regardless of quality, prevailing.
This is a major misstep, and I find it extremely laughable how Apple is the one who somehow has to keep proving itself despite having such a huge market cap, while Netflix was given the green light to basically do whatever they wanted, with nobody here questioning the validity or wisdom of their actions (many here even wanted Apple to either acquire Netflix or basically ape their business model of quantity over quality).
IMO, Netflix's board needs to step down, and the company is in sore need of new management. If they won't do it, then Wall Street will do it for them (and looking at their stock price, I suspect the latter will). But the naysayers here will never admit that perhaps, just perhaps, Netflix was wrong and Apple just might be on to something with their own video streaming service.
Given how much some have complained when Netflix (or others) raised their prices even just $1 to $2/month in the past, I'd say yes.
Ad-supported plans are pretty popular with other streaming services offering that option. Disney+ will be rolling out their own ad-supported plan soon as well.
Why now? I think part of it is because they've seen others have success with ad-supported plans. Disney+, a major competitor as far as number of subscribers, will also soon be offering an ad-supported plan. It seems like a logical move for Netflix and may be the direction other streaming services will be going in the future. In the current economic/inflation environment, many families are looking for ways to save a few bucks and an ad-supported plan can be one way to do that.
Exactly they should price based on res and screens. Should be able to get 4K one screen for less
And there's more on Frndly for $8.99 I want to watch than on Netflix. I already canned NF wqy back when they split the subs for DVDs and streaming.
I don't mind if they aren't super annoying or repeated constantly. The worst is when the repeat it twice in a row. I saw it the first time, and now I am going out of my way to NOT use your products
Heck I was out well before that when they first showed their greed by separating subs for DVDs and streaming
Or they don't care as much as some about ads. I'll just do something else during the ads like I used to when there was cable with no DVR
Nailed it. Yes, yes they will. Just like Hulu is throttled on cellular for the actual content, but the ads load instantly.
Netflix has already said who their new customers are, the advertisers. This is just a continuation of Netflix's decline. They used to be awesome because they focused on what people actually want. Those days are long gone.
Dragging us back to the very low standards of cable TV has been Netflix's goal for a long time. When they introduced auto playing ads with sound and people hated it, the manager in charge said "well it's the same experience as cable TV."
The real problem here is that the internet isn’t regulated as a common carrier. Netflix is paying for bandwidth on the back end and they are paying tons for it. If we could get net neutrality things would be quite different.
its $5... per month... thats like 16 cents a day... if you can't afford that then you have bigger problems and shouldn't be subscribing on any lower tier because you are in in need of that $5
its not that they can't afford it, people just do not react positively to price increases . Ad supported plan I believe was devised by Hulu to steal Netflix subscribers for a "lower subscription" .
I expected this take from someone, took longer than I expected.
When you are on a budget, every bit counts. Sure it is only 5 bucks but there could be something else that is only 5 bucks and another thing, you see where I am going. All those "only 5 buck" differences add up. You can be on a budget without being destitute.
Fact remains it is a 50% discount to watch some ads.
Same concept as "You don't need that grocery item if you need a coupon to get it". I guess you never had to worry about this kind of thing though in your life so props to you.
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A lot of people here are mentioning $5 a month.
That's half the price of their current lowest tier.
Do we really think this new ad-supported plan will be priced that low?
🤔
That's half the price of their current lowest tier.
Do we really think this new ad-supported plan will be priced that low?
🤔
And people react positively to lower prices. My point was that given the negative reaction (including choosing to unsubscribe) of even $1 or $2/month increases, a $5/month or so lower price could certainly be meaningful enough to convince a number of people to subscribe or re-subscribe.
I think people are basing this on other streaming service prices with and without ads.
Examples:
Paramount+ with ads is $5 cheaper than Paramount+ without ads ($4.99 versus $9.99)
Peacock Premium with ads is $5 cheaper than Peacock Premium without ads ($4.99 versus $9.99)
HBO Max with ads is $5 cheaper than HBO Max without ads ($9.99 versus $14.99)
Hulu with ads is $6 cheaper than Hulu without ads ($6.99 versus $12.99)