Netflix’s new ad-supported tier could reportedly cost between $7 (£6) and $9 (£8) per month.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the streaming giant plans to cut the current subscription price in half for people who are willing to put up with ads.
The deal would mean significant savings for customers currently paying £6.99, £10.99 or £15.99 on one of the company’s three plans.
In July, Netflix announced that it was introducing a cheaper subscription plan with ads.
Until now, Netflix offers basic, standard and premium plans without ads. With the new plan, the company is likely to target consumers who don’t mind their TV binge being interrupted by commercials, as long as they have to pay less.
The streaming company has always kept marketing off its platform, relying instead on increasing subscription cost to manage its growth.
But Netflix has had a rough year. Following reports of lost subscribers, the company’s stock price plummeted.
So it makes sense for you to turn to advertising to help fund a lower priced subscription level to attract people.
People might have been willing to put up with ads in the middle of their Netflix binge if it meant they had to pay less, but they might also have to put up with losing some features.
The streaming giant’s upcoming ad-supported plans could disable downloading shows and movies for offline viewing.
This would be a huge inconvenience for people who like to download their favorite shows and movies to their devices to watch on a flight or on the subway to work.
Executives have also said that some ad-level content will be missing at launch.
Customers on the ad-supported plan can reportedly expect about four minutes of commercials per hour, appearing before and during some shows.
Reports suggest that the new level will be implemented by the end of the year in at least half a dozen markets. A global launch might not happen until early next year.
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