Netflix Release Plans For A More Affordable ‘Basic with Ads’ Pricing Tier

Netflix have recently announced their plans to slash prices to more than half of that currently with a new subscription tier ‘Basic with Ads’ which is set to launch across a variety of countries on November 3^rd 2022. Netflix plans to release the trial tier across Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US. The launch dates will be at 9 am PT.

Ads will be displayed for around 4-5 minutes on average per hour of viewing time with ad length being set at 15 or 30 seconds. Ads will be displayed before and during films and series at pre-set intervals throughout. Partnering with Microsfot/Xander, Netflix said it would offer a broad range of targeting options for marketers which can be categorised by country and genre. It is not yet clear if Netflix will offer deeper targeting options such as age ratings, specific series and specific genres.

Netflix is planning to charge $65 CPM for serving ad content based on 1000 impressions and has set a minimum advertiser spend of $20m although the $65 CPM may reduce overtime as the rollout is completed. There has been concerns from advertisers over Netflix’s brand safety protection, saying that it isn’t quite enough yet with advertisers only able to opt-out of having their ads appear next to shows which don’t mirror their brand such as shows which have violent or graphic content.

Netflix’s move into the advertising space is a huge advancement and change for the company and for many subscription-based streaming organisations which may look to follow in their footsteps. The move comes as an increased amount of online streaming platforms are appearing across the market which may offer cheaper alternatives that attract more customers as the cost of living continues to rise as a means to cut back. Currently, the lowest price of Netflix available in the UK is £6.99 a month which could see a rapid reduction to around £4.99 with this new pricing tier. Netflix are setting out to create a ‘price and plan for every fan’.